Tag: Speeches

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Comments to Press at UK Trade Mission to India

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Comments to Press at UK Trade Mission to India

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, in India on 9 October 2025.

    Back in July – together with Prime Minister Modi – I signed the historic UK and India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

    It is a huge deal for the United Kingdom. The most ambitious trade deal India has ever done. And, like our deals with the US and the EU, people said it would never happen. They said it couldn’t be done.

    But we did it. Because of this government’s approach: outward facing, proud, and determined to deliver for Britain.

    And as a result we are opening up new opportunities in India for British businesses. Opportunities that other countries simply do not have. It has given us a unique edge.

    So I have come here this week, leading our biggest trade delegation to India ever to follow through on this deal. 

    That means 126 CEOs, tech entrepreneurs, SMEs, Vice-Chancellors, sports and cultural leaders all here with me to seize the incredible benefits that this deal offers for the British people.

    The opportunity is clear. Just look at the sheer scale of India: the world’s largest democracy, on track to become third largest economy by 2028, an economic superpower in the making. And we are perfectly placed to be partners on that journey.

    We want to build the sectors and the skills of the future together. So this trade deal is a launchpad to boost British leadership in everything from tech, to life sciences, to renewable energy, and much more beyond that.

    And we have seized these opportunities in full this week – delivering real results for the British people, securing new investments into the UK worth £1.3 billion, and creating 10,600 jobs.

    That is remarkable. It includes 1,500 jobs in the North West, over 1,000 across the midlands, 200 in Yorkshire and the Humber, and 700 in Northern Ireland.

    Great jobs – in advanced engineering, in defence, in car production, film making and technology. Delivering real change that people will see in their communities up and down the country. And that’s what this is all about.

    And what we’re doing together in tech is a great example. The UK is one of only three countries in the world with a trillion-dollar tech sector. India is poised to be the fourth. We are both top four AI powers, and we’re taking this opportunity to go further. 

    We’re deepening the UK-India Technology Security Initiative to boost opportunities for great British companies and deliver dozens of new investments into the United Kingdom.

    Harnessing tech as one of the biggest engines we have for jobs and growth. Other stand-out wins this week have come in filmmaking, with the announcement that three new Bollywood blockbusters will be made in the United Kingdom.

    And in education, with the announcement today that the University of Lancaster and the University of Surrey will open new campuses in India – joining other British universities setting up here and making the UK India’s top international education provider.

    So we are out there, leading the way and winning these opportunities for our country. Because, the fact is, this relationship matters more than ever.

    Across the economy, security, energy, climate and more. Our history together is deep, the human connections between our people are truly special. So this week we have built on all that.

    Building on our historic trade deal, we are remaking this partnership for our times, forward facing, focused on winning the opportunities of the future, together, and bringing them home for the British people.

    Now before I open for questions, I want to strongly welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

    This will come as a profound relief for the hostages and their families, and the civilian population in Gaza, and for the whole world. And we will now work with our partners to ensure this deal is implemented in full and without delay.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Comments on Proposed Changes to Pub Licensing

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Comments on Proposed Changes to Pub Licensing

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 9 October 2025.

    Pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities. Under our Plan for Change, we’re backing them to thrive.

    This review is about cutting red tape, boosting footfall, and making it easier for venues to put on the kind of events that bring people together. When our locals do well, our economy does too.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech to the RISE Attainment Conference

    Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech to the RISE Attainment Conference

    The speech made by Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 7 October 2025.

    Hello everyone. Thanks so much for being here, thanks so much for coming.  

    And thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to put today together. 

    It’s great to be here in the south west, with leaders from schools and trusts, to talk about the children of this region.  

    Their learning, their futures, and their life chances. 

    And I hope you’ll find today is an opportunity to come together, to take stock and to think carefully about what more we can do for the young people in your classrooms. 

    I know so many of you already deliver so much, helping them to achieve and thrive. 

    So I want to say a huge thank you. 

    You and your staff transform lives. I visit schools and I see it in the children, I hear it from the parents, I feel it on results day. 

    The difference that all of you here in this room all make. 

    That’s why you – leaders, teachers – are at the centre of the change this government wants to achieve. 

    The road to national renewal runs through our schools. 

    Now, thanks to your hard work, schools have come a long way in this country.  

    And you deliver a fantastic education for most children. 

    But we all know that journey of improvement must continue. That’s why you’re all here today, it’s why you work so hard, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. 

    You understand the importance of what you do, and the need to keep raising standards for all.  

    And closing the gaps as well. 

    Because there are still groups of children for whom school just isn’t working. And these aren’t random, we know that the gaps are systemic.  

    Children with special educational needs and disabilities. 

    Children from disadvantaged communities.  

    And white working-class children too. 

    Just one in five achieves a strong pass in their English and Maths GCSEs. 

    Statistics like this are important. But anyone who has spent any time in our schools will know this already. 

    And will want to work with us to put it right. 

    Through our schools white paper, together we will build a schools system that works for each and every child.  

    One that sets each and every child up to achieve. 

    One that breaks the link between background and success, once and for all. 

    Together we must spread excellence from one school to another.  

    Because the world-leading practice I want to see in every school is already shining in many of our schools already. 

    So progress can and must come from within the system. 

    Improvement of schools, by schools, for our children. 

    That’s why much of today is being led by you.  

    Sharing what works for children in your schools. 

    So that it can work for children in all of our schools. 

    I have high expectations for every child, as I’m sure you do too, therefore I have high expectations for every school.  

    But to get this right we need to look at the moments where children fall behind. Like the transition from primary to secondary school. 

    And so we need a transformative shift in how key stage three is valued and managed. As always, the answers are already there in some schools.  

    Take Wilsthorpe School in Derbyshire. Because while the midlands might be at the other end of the M5, some solutions, I think, are universal. 

    Like the use of good data. And Wilsthorpe’s approach is rooted in it. 

    They look at the patterns of poor attendance in primary – and use that to inform their transition plans for new year 7s. 

    But the head, Derek Hobbs, like a lot of heads, knows that strong transitions are built on strong partnerships with parents.  

    Plans are shared with parents early – and they combine face-to-face chats with ways for families to reach out online. 

    Parents even get a direct line of contact with form teachers in year 7, to smooth what can be quite a difficult move from year 6. 

    The school has made parents evenings feel like community events. 

    Members of the scouts and air cadets come along. Representatives of local health services are often there too. 

    Again, their approach is built on solid data, this time to predict at an early stage which parents may well be hard to reach.  

    Because it tends to be these families that need the most support if their child is to do well. 

    And you know what – the hard work is paying off. 

    Suspensions are low. Exclusions are low.  

    And attendance is high – especially in year 7. 

    Attainment 8, strong and improving. 

    And Progress 8, strong and improving – including for disadvantaged children. 

    That, as we know, is the prize on offer.  

    To deliver better life chances for children. 

    And we will support you to reach those high expectations. 

    That’s what our new RISE teams are all about.  

    Drawing on the excellence that exists in some schools, and spreading it to all schools.  

    Leaders across the country are already tapping into that spirit of collaboration. 

    Like Lee Kane, the head of Astor School in Dover. 

    I want to talk about Astor because it’s one of schools on the frontlines of my vision for education. 

    On average across the country, in a class of 30, 7 children are on free school meals.  

    At Astor it’s 18. 

    The school serves the 4th most deprived community in Kent. These are the children who have the most to gain from a great education.  

    And these are the children that our RISE programme is helping Lee to reach. 

    Astor is receiving targeted support and has partnered with the high-performing Mulberry Schools Trust.  

    Drawing on advice from their RISE Advisor, Maria Dawes, and from leaders at Mulberry, Lee can introduce new initiatives and improve existing ones. 

    Like on attendance. Coming out of covid, just as in so many schools, Astor was struggling with high absence rates.  

    One young person hadn’t attended school for more than 2 years.  

    I won’t use her real name, but let’s call her Sarah for today. 

    Sarah just couldn’t imagine herself coming back to school. But Lee knew the damage not being in school was doing to her life chances, and the life chances of other children not turning up. 

    So Lee set up a new attendance unit, right there in the school.  

    Staff visited Sarah at home, encouraged her to come into the school in the summer, when it was calm and quiet.  

    They worked with Sarah to design the unit – so that she would feel at home.  

    When the new term started, they eased Sarah back into the swing of attendance. 

    Slowly, step by step, until she was attending every day. Attendance is the foundation of attainment – and so it proved for this young woman. 

    Despite all she’d missed, she passed both her English and maths GCSEs.  

    I think about where Sarah would be now if Astor hadn’t acted. She would probably still be at home every day, without her English and Maths GCSEs, but crucially, her hopes for the future slowly slipping away. 

    But the school put her on a different path. And now she knows that education can work for her, that success can belong to her.  

    And I can’t wait to hear about what she goes on to achieve next. 

    That’s the power of what’s on offer here. The chance to support and scale what works. 

    To draw on the excellence that already exists. And put it to work in service of the children in all of your schools. 

    Astor is beginning its improvement journey. And there is so much more still to do to see all pupils in the school achieve and thrive. 

    But through the RISE team we are providing the support and challenge to drive forward that improvement.  

    So Lee’s message is to grab the opportunity with both hands. To be brave, to think big. Knowing that we’re here to support you. 

    That’s how we will raise standards in all our schools. But you’ll all know that the roots of achievement and attainment run deep. 

    So our actions must match that, especially if we want to reach our most disadvantaged children, 

    And to break the sad spiral of poor attainment. Because there are communities now who believe that school just isn’t for people like them.  

    Parents who feel school had nothing to offer them when they were growing up. 

    And now pass on that deep suspicion to their children. 

    New findings from the Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes paints a very sorry picture of disengagement. 

    And shortly, you’ll hear from the inquiry’s secretariat, Public First. 

    But I should say now that the findings are stark. 

    White working-class children are less likely to enjoy school. 

    Less likely to feel successful at school. 

    Less likely to feel that they belong at school. 

    And the links between belonging and achievement are profound – and they run both ways. 

    But let us be absolutely clear: they are not alternative choices. It’s not a question of one or the other. 

    The only real choice, quite frankly, is both, or neither. 

    Because children who don’t like school, who don’t believe they belong in the classroom, who suspect the system is against them. 

    They are not children who are set up to achieve top marks. 

    And if you’re failing your exams, it’s hard to enjoy school, it’s hard to feel like you belong. And so that cycle continues. 

    But we must break that cycle and set up these children up for success. 

    That is why our Schools White Paper will drive a generational reset in the contract between white working class families and our schools, giving every child the opportunities they deserve in life. 

    For that we must give them an education that is academically challenging. 

    Strong on standards.  

    Rich in opportunity. 

    Rooted in strong relationships.  

    Filled with purpose and belonging. 

    That’s the recipe for children who enjoy school, who feel they belong in school, and who succeed at school. 

    But like any recipe, it can’t be just one of those things, working alone. 

    It must be all of those things, working together. 

    And you are the chefs – the expert leaders who can bring it all together. 

    Using all the tools at your disposal to raise standards – cutting edge data, our new RISE support, our new writing framework. 

    But the journey starts long before children reach your classrooms. 

    Through support for families in our new Best Start Family Hubs. 

    Through our 30 hours a week of government funded childcare for working parents.  

    And then our Best Start breakfast clubs in primary schools. 

    Building achievement and belonging right from the early years, so they arrive in your secondary schools raring to go. 

    And in your classrooms, they will be taught a curriculum that is rich and broad – that delivers the strong foundations of learning, but also opens up the wonders of art, music, and sport.  

    Enrichment too. Because we know that children with access to enrichment at school, tend to be the children who do well in their exams. 

    And in the end, the way that children truly connect with their education is through great teachers.  

    Now, when I think back to my school days, when I think of the happy memories. It was all about the teachers I had along the way. 

    The ones who helped me succeed are the ones who made me feel like I belonged. 

    That’s why I am determined to help you recruit and retain more great teachers in your schools.  

    And to encourage more people to get into the profession, what’s why we have set out today the new initial teacher training incentive. 

    I want more great teachers in our schools, working their magic. 

    And it really is magic – what they do, what you do. 

    Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. 

    And I certainly won’t let anyone tell me otherwise. 

    You have the wonderful power to transform lives. 

    To give to children the knowledge and skills they need to succeed, not just in work, but in life too. 

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Gaza Peace Deal

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Gaza Peace Deal

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 9 October 2025.

    I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

    This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years. 

    I am grateful for the tireless diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and the United States, supported by our regional partners, in securing this crucial first step. This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.

    We call on all parties to meet the commitments they have made, to end the war, and to build the foundations for a just and lasting end to the conflict and a sustainable path to a long-term peace. The UK will support these crucial immediate steps and the next stage of talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan.

  • David Lammy – 2025 Tribute at the Manchester Synagogue Attack Vigil

    David Lammy – 2025 Tribute at the Manchester Synagogue Attack Vigil

    The tribute made by David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, in Manchester on 3 October 2025.

    Friends, we must stand together today.

    We must stand in grief, in solidarity and in defiance.  

    Grief – for the innocent lives that were taken so cruelly.

    Senseless murders carried out on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year.

    Grief that causes so much pain, so much suffering.

    Today our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers must be with the families of those who were killed. 

    And of course with this Jewish community, both here in Manchester at the Heaton Park Synagogue and right across our nation.    

    And as the Member of Parliament for Tottenham, I know that suffering in Crumpsall is the same as the pain and the worry on the frightened faces in my own constituency, in Stamford Hill. 

    In that sense the London and Manchester communities are twin communities, grieving as one. 

    And, us, the whole nation – with them. 

    That’s why we stand in solidarity – with the Jewish people.

    Because an attack like this is never felt alone.  

    Wherever they are in our country, Jewish people, our friends, our neighbours, our loved ones, are terrified by the events of yesterday.

    Of becoming targets, victims of antisemitic hate, simply for who they are. 

    But I know this about Britain’s Jewish community: 

    A community I have known all of my life.  

    You are strong, you are resilient, you will never be cowed.  

    And I want you to know today, that your country, those of all colours, all faiths and none, stand with you.  

    We stand with you against terrorism. 

    We stand with you against those who think bombs and blasts will break us. 

    And we stand against all those who would minimise, coddle or obfuscate on anti-Jewish hate. 

    We know terrorism in this country. We know it in this city, we saw it at the Arena.

    And now we have seen it in Heaton Park. 

    We all know terrorism. We all feel terrorism. I lost my childhood best friend, James Adams who was blown to smithereens on the 7/7 bombings. 

    And I vow to you, every Christian, Muslim, Jew, every Mancunian, every Brit, we will never stop fighting it. 

    That’s why we stand in defiance of those terrorists who seek to divide us.

    Who want to pit neighbour against neighbour, to weaken the bonds that bind us together.

    As one nation, one people, one United Kingdom, we cannot, we must not let them divide us.  

    On days like today, we must show who we really are, not what they want us to believe.

    But Britain’s true nature: A tolerant nation, built on mutual respect, common understanding, where people live not in fear, but in freedom.

    That is who we are, that is who we will always be and it cannot be eroded by violence.

    It cannot be erased by vile acts such as those carried out here yesterday.  

    I want to close with this thought: When I have lost loved ones in the past, Jewish friends have often used a phrase to comfort me: 

    ‘May their memory be a blessing.’ 

    Nothing will ever take away the pain of what happened here.   

    But how we respond now, how we stand together, yes, in grief and in solidarity, but also in defiance and a shared mission: Against terror, in the name of us all.

    That response honours those we have lost.

    May their memory be a blessing. 

    Not just to their families, not just to the Jewish community, but to our entire nation.  

    Always.  

    And for those that are considering marching over the weekend: 

    I ask them to reflect with all human dignity, grace and understanding, to stop and to stand back.  

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Middle East

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Middle East

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 4 October 2025.

    Hamas’ acceptance of the US peace plan is a significant step forwards. We strongly support President Trump’s efforts, which have brought us closer to peace than ever before.

    There is now an opportunity to end the fighting, for the hostages to return home, and for humanitarian aid to reach those who so desperately need it. We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.

    The UK, alongside our partners, stands ready to support further negotiations and to work towards sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech at the North East Chamber of Commerce

    Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech at the North East Chamber of Commerce

    The speech made by Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, in Sunderland on 3 October 2025.

    This is an organisation that has stood the test of time. Because 1815 is not only the year the Battle of Waterloo was won.

    Perhaps more importantly even than that, it was the year that the Chamber was established.

    So I want to thank the Chamber for centuries of work giving the businesses of this region a voice.

    And I have to say, it’s always so nice to be here, back home in the North East. I grew up not far from here, just several miles down the Wear to Washington.

    That’s the community I’m from. Where I was born, where I went to school, where I made my first friends.

    I have spoken about how during that time there were ups and downs where I grew up. There was deprivation and there was crime in our community.

    But there was kindness too. And resolve to make the most of things.

    And I saw those sharp contrasts when I came back home to the North East after university.

    I worked in the women’s refuge here when I was in my early 20s.

    And in those years I saw some of the worst things you could ever see, the impact of the worst violence and abuse.

    But I also saw the best of our community too.

    I saw resilience, strength.

    I witnessed so many women rebuild their lives with dignity and determination.

    And it was a real honour to be able to help them do it.

    So when I think about home, I think about community.

    I reflect on what that word means for all of us.

    Not just as a proud native of the North East, but as a proud member of this government.

    Because what we want to see as this government is to grow strong communities across the North East and across this country.

    Communities filled with optimism and opportunity.

    But how do we do that? What does a community need?

    You won’t be surprised to hear me as Education Secretary say that every good community needs a brilliant school.

    A brilliant college. An engaged university not too far away.

    But it also has to provide proper support for families too. Our government funded childcare entitlement. Our school-based nurseries.

    Our Best Start Family Hubs.

    But a strong community full of opportunity needs more than that.

    It needs great employers, it needs all of you here, in this room.

    Because all of you in this room are drivers of growth and opportunity.

    In manufacturing. Logistics. Hospitality. Tourism. Tech. Energy.

    Education. Finance. Construction. Defence. Social enterprise. Healthcare, you name it.

    Here in this room we have the diversity of enterprise that makes our region great.

    And you are crucial to two of this government’s missions – growth for the British economy, and opportunity for the British people.

    So I want to say a big thank you for the role you all play in your local communities.

    And I want to thank you for working so closely with the North East Combined Authority in that endeavour.

    Our mayor Kim McGuiness is doing a fantastic job creating opportunities for young people.

    And I know so much of this region’s good work runs through the local skills improvement plans.

    Because to play your vital role as good businesses in the communities that you serve you need a skills system fit for purpose, a system that works for all of  you.

    One that is both comprehensive and cohesive.

    One that focuses on actual skills needs – both locally and nationally.

    Because I know that there is nothing more frustrating for you than being ready to expand, ready to contribute to the success of your communities, but not being able to find the right people with the right skills.

    And trust me, that’s frustrating for us as government too.

    And for young people – who have big dreams, who want to work hard, to get on, but who can’t find the right pathway –  for them, that’s not just a frustration.

    It’s crushing.

    That’s the thing, skills are the route to prosperity for employees and for employers.

    A skills system that works for young people is a skills system that works for business.

    And that’s the vision for our upcoming post-16 education and skills white paper.

    To build a system that drives growth through the industrial strategy.

    That’s not the work of one department, but the work of the whole government.

    To open up opportunity in all of our communities.

    And there are opportunities to be seized.

    Evidence from Skills England shows why that’s so important.

    By 2030 we’ll need 900,000 new jobs in priority sectors.

    Like digital, clean energy, advanced manufacturing.

    900,000 opportunities for your businesses to expand.

    900,000 opportunities for our people to get on.

    But to grab those opportunities we need change. We need a rebalancing of what it is we value.

    Our universities, including here in the region, are truly world-leading, a brilliant source of national pride. But for too long, our further education colleges have had to exist in their shadow.

    So it’s time we recognised the value of our colleges too.

    And, just as we are driving up standards in our schools, it’s time to drive up standards in our colleges as well.

    We’ll work with our brilliant FE staff, to harness their passion, to unlock their expertise, and to set in motion a skills revolution in our colleges.

    Universities are the right route for many of our young people.

    And we’ve got to make sure that all who want to go to university have the means to follow that dream.

    That’s why in my speech this week at Labour Party Conference I announced that we will introduce new targeted maintenance grants for students who need them most.

    Available for students pursuing higher level study at college or university on courses aligned with the government’s missions and the industrial strategy, because we value the technicians as well as the engineers, because what matters is not the building you study in, but the skills that you hone, because university is a fantastic option for many of our young people, but it’s not all of our young people, and they need strong roots too.

    That’s why in his conference speech the Prime Minister announced we’ll move away from the target, around 50% of young people to go to university.

    Instead, Keir set a new ambition, fit for this country’s future, fit for the modern world, for two-thirds of young people to reach higher-level study.

    Whether that’s at university. Whether that’s in a college.

    Or whether that’s through an apprenticeship.

    I’m serious about skills. The Prime Minister is serious about skills. And this government is serious about skills.

    And that requires a prestigious, world-class further education system.

    Raising standards. Bolstering teaching quality. Empowering our high-performing FE leaders.

    And so we’re backing our FE colleges with more funding.

    Investing nearly £800 million extra next year.

    Supporting an extra 20,000 16-19-year-olds with the skills that they need to get on.

    And we’re going further.

    We’re transforming FE colleges into specialist Technical Excellence Colleges.

    And they’ll focus on key sectors to support our industrial strategy.

    Back in August I went to Derby College to announce the selection of 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges, covering the whole of England.

    And we’re investing £100 million to get this right and deliver high-quality construction skills for our young people.

    And I’m delighted that the Construction Technical Excellence College for the North East is right here at the City of Sunderland College.

    And we worked hand in hand with the North East Combined Authority to get this right.

    In fact, the college’s brand-new Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy is just right over the way from here. You might be able to see it if you shuffle down.

    It’ll be a centre of excellence, partnering with FE colleges, universities and employers like you across the region.

    And now we’re launching another 14 Technical Excellence Colleges in three more sectors for 2026 right across the country – on top of the five we announced as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy.

    That’s one route for young people to get the skills that your businesses need and that we all need.

    Another is apprenticeships.

    I know that they haven’t always offered the flexibility you need, they haven’t always reflected the realities of the modern world.

    When the right skills can be gained in under a year, for example. Or when learners aren’t starting from zero.

    That’s why last month we reduced the minimum duration to 8 months, to make apprenticeships work better for learners and better for you.

    Also tearing away the red tape on English and maths, to open up opportunities for adult learners.

    And for young people in targeted sectors we’ve introduced foundation apprenticeships – to give them a route into good careers in critical sectors.

    But I know that sometimes supporting someone starting out in their career who needs extra support can be expensive for employers.

    So we’ve backed the new foundation apprenticeships with support for employers of up to £2,000 for every foundation apprentice that you take on.

    And It’s a similar story for T Level placements.

    They’re an essential part of these really high quality top-quality qualifications.

    But that doesn’t mean they’re cost free for you.

    So we’ve brought in a new Employer Support Fund.

    £6.3 million this year to support you with the costs of hosting a T Level industry placement.

    Alongside this action on apprenticeships and T Levels sit our skills packages across government.

    £625 million investment in construction skills.

    £182 million for defence.

    £172 million for engineering.

    And £187 million for digital.

    Skills aren’t just a lever to pull, they’re the cornerstone of our plans to get growth moving in every community.

    But they’re no good in isolation. For that growth to be felt by local families, they have to be centred in local businesses, and we need to take a step back.

    Because new skills are no use to the new dad who can’t go back to work because childcare is too expensive.

    A new qualification is no use to the mam who can’t get up her hours in the office because school drop off is too late.

    That’s why we’re rolling out 30 hours  of government-funded childcare for working parents, until their child reaches school.

    And it’s why we’re racing ahead with free breakfast clubs for every primary school in the country.

    To give parents the choice and freedom to work the hours that suit them.

    But it’s more than that. We’re growing a network of up to a thousand Best Start Family Hubs.

    The best of Sure Start, reimagined for the future – bringing together all of the help and advice that our  families need.

    This is at the root of how we will  eradicate the stain of child poverty in our region – and across the country.

    Parents with the right support, with the right skills to find the work that’s best for them.

    Ending child poverty is the moral mission of this government.

    Giving parents the power and the choices they need to build a better life for themselves and their families is my promise.

    And some might wonder what’s the relevance for business in all of that.

    But they’re wrong.

    As leaders you know the value of strong and supportive communities.

    The value of healthy and happy members of your team.

    That’s why we’ve been working with business on our Make Work Pay initiative.

    To drive up working conditions.

    To share best practice.

    To boost innovation.

    Because the best businesses are proud to be trusted sources of good, secure jobs in their local communities.

    And that’s my ask of you as I wrap up.  

    To partner with us to revitalise our communities.

    To take on that young apprentice with plenty of talent but who’s still got plenty left to learn.

    Welcome that T-Level placement student who otherwise wouldn’t get the practical experience they need.

    Engage in T Level Week later this month and share your success stories.

    Invest in your workforce, not just for today but for tomorrow too.

    And work with us in government. Work with Skills England. local colleges, your local university. Work with the team delivering the Local Skills Improvement Plan for your area.

    You do all this already, because you know there is such strength in our community here in the region, but only when we work together.

    So, please, keep doing it. And I’ll keep on working in partnership with you.

    Because you are at the centre of what this government wants to achieve.

    Our skills white paper is coming – and in partnership with you it will deliver the step change in skills that our country needs.

    But that’s not the end game.

    Because ultimately skills are a means to an end.

    A means to many ends, in fact.

    Driving growth.

    Ending child poverty.

    Breaking the link between background and success.

    Security and prosperity, for businesses and workers alike.

    Strong and healthy communities.

    Opportunity for all.

    Skills are the passport that take us from we are now to where we want to be.

    As businesses, as communities, and as a country.

    And that’s a journey I want us all to take together.

    Thank you very much.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the New Archbishop of Canterbury

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the New Archbishop of Canterbury

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 3 October 2025.

    I welcome the appointment of The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally D.B.E as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the role.

    The Church of England is of profound importance to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities.

    The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on Manchester Terror Attack

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on Manchester Terror Attack

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 2 October 2025.

    Good evening. Earlier today, on Yom Kippur – the holiest day for the Jewish community – a vile individual committed a terrorist attack. That attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values. So many Jewish families first came to this country as a place of refuge, fleeing the greatest evil ever inflicted on a people. And Britain welcomed them. Communities, like the one attacked in Manchester, provided safety, but also the security that comes from a promise that this is a country that stands up to hatred. And that we don’t just provide refuge, we provide a home. For so many Jewish families – that is the story of Britain. But Britain is also a country where Jewish buildings, synagogues, and even schools require round-the-clock protection. Where dedicated, specialist, security is necessary because of the daily threat of antisemitic hatred. Today’s horrific incident shows why. And while this is not a new hate, this is something Jews have always lived with, we must be clear – it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again. 

    On behalf of the nation, I want to offer my condolences to the families and victims affected. I want to thank the Greater Manchester Police, the first responders, and those dedicated security specialists. There is no doubt whatsoever that they have prevented an even greater tragedy, and we thank them for their bravery. But to every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you. I really do. And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears. Nobody should have to do that – nobody. And so I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community. I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain – the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love. And I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong. Thank you.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Kemi Badenoch – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, in Manchester on 8 October 2025.

    Only the Conservative party can deliver the stronger economy and stronger borders that will give people a more prosperous future.

    Every generation must face its test.

    In the 1940s, our test was to defeat fascism and ensure the victory of freedom.

    In the 1980s, it was to banish socialism and deliver prosperity.

    And in the 2020s, our test is to restore a strong economy, secure our borders, and rebuild Britain’s strength so our children inherit a country that works.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Conference, thank you.

    Thank you, for standing by the only party that can meet the test of our generation.

    The only party that can deliver a stronger economy and stronger borders.

    Everything else relies on getting this right.

    National security, order on the streets, decent healthcare, high quality education, cohesion in our communities.

    None of this exists without a strong economy and strong borders.

    A weak economy makes us poorer.

    The services we rely on get worse and people cannot build a better life for themselves or their families.

    Weak borders allow people to exploit our generosity, put our housing and public services under pressure, and fracture our sense of who we are as a nation.

    A weak economy and weak borders mean steady decline.

    I reject that fate.

    Together, we Conservatives will save Britain from that fate.

    And we can do it together because we are a strong team.

    My fantastic shadow cabinet Mel, Chris, Claire, Laura, Rob, Andrew – both of them, James – both of them, Mims, Jesse Stuart, all of you: thank you. Thank you so much.

    My front bench, experienced hands and rising stars.

    Conference, we know our MPs and peers have more collective wisdom than the rest of Parliament put together.

    And it’s not just them, lets to forget Darren and our MSs in Wales, Russell and our MSPs in Scotland, our fantastic mayors.

    Labour beater Ben Houchen and Reform slayer Paul Bristow, Councillors, activists.

    You are our party. Thank you.

    I joined our party as an activist 20 years ago.

    I was with you delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

    I sat in this hall listening to speeches.

    I celebrated all our wins, and I felt the pain of every defeat.

    I cannot tell you how honoured, how privileged, and how proud I am to stand before you as Leader of our party.

    Leader of the Conservative Party.

    The only party that can meet the test of our generation.

    You are more than just a political party to me.

    You have supported me, you have stood by me, you have enabled me to achieve more than I ever dreamed.

    You are my family, in many ways quite literally.

    I married the deputy chairman of my association, and I certainly would not be standing here today without my husband, Hamish. Thank you.

    I love this party for what it has given me but more than that, I love it because it has made life better for so many in our country and will do so again.

    Time and time again, guided by our values.

    And our principles.

    We have steered this country through its darkest days.

    And today, we must be ready to do the same again.

    Because we are the only party that has the vision, the courage, and the competence to tear up a broken political model, deliver a new blueprint for our country, and together take Britain into an era of prosperity and security.

    To do this, Conference, we must be frank about the problems our country faces.

    Because they are not the same ones that we faced in the 1940s, or the 1980s, or even the 2010s.

    The country that Hamish and I were born in, had its issues.

    But thanks – in large part – to hard choices taken by this party

    Opportunity was there for people who worked hard.

    People had a sense of pride in our national story, and excitement about the future.

    I am not sure young people feel that way anymore.

    They feel they are living somewhere where things never get any better.

    Britain is stagnating, while the world around us moves on.

    We are competing with restless and ambitious countries around the world.

    We are competing with a billion people in India striving to become middle class.

    We are competing with economic success stories like Poland.

    15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity.

    Now, Poland is growing twice as fast as we are.

    While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was building five nuclear reactors.

    Conference, people around the world are determined to lift their lives, and their children’s lives up to a standard that we have taken for granted.

    Some countries won’t be able to do this.

    And in those countries millions of people will decide that they want to come here instead.

    And if our borders are not secure, they will succeed.

    Especially, if our economy is addicted to migration.

    Of course, we want brilliant minds and great talents to come here.

    But at the moment we are not just taking in doctors, engineers, and scientists.

    We are accepting hundreds of thousands of people, some with many dependents.

    Some with no skills at all.

    This broken immigration model is heaping pressure on our public sector.

    A public sector which already every year, demands more and more and more of our money, yet services don’t get better, they get worse.

    Everyone in this room knows what I am talking about.

    We have all felt it.

    We used to ring up our GP and get an appointment the same day.

    Now, now we have to wait on the phone to see if we’re one of the lucky ones.

    We have potholes that have been around, so long people are holding birthday parties for them.

    Underneath all of this, is a society which is struggling to cope.

    Struggling to cope with the reality of getting poorer, struggling to cope with the erosion of a sense of who we are as a country.

    We cannot drift our way into solving these problems.

    We know what drift looks like.

    It looks like allowing the trade unions to overturn years of progress in school standards.

    It looks like letting our veterans face vexatious prosecutions when we should be worrying about the strength of our military.

    Drift looks like Labour’s one-in-one-out returns deal with France that ends up letting 100 people in, for every one who leaves.

    Being timid will get us nowhere.

    We need bold ideas.

    We need a positive vision for this country.

    And a plan to deliver it.    

    We need a new approach.

    A new approach that delivers a stronger economy and stronger borders.

    We owe that to our children.

    During our time in government, we did great things.

    Labour, want to pretend the last 14 years were all bad.

    They want to forget that they were losing all that time.

    Let’s remind them.

    Between 2010 and 2020 we slashed the deficit.

    We lifted millions of people out of tax and got millions in to work.

    We sent English schools soaring up the international league tables.

    We led the coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    But Conference, the truth is we didn’t always fight hard enough for what we believed in.

    We need to remember who we are fighting for.

    We are fighting for people who work hard and do the right thing.

    We are fighting for people who ask, “why do sickness benefits pay more than the minimum wage?”

    More than the living wage even.

    We are fighting for small business owners, people who take risks and get things done.

    We are fighting for the victims of crime.

    They want to know that we are on their side.

    That criminals will face the full force of the law.

    We are fighting for the farmers, putting food on our tables.

    These are our people.

    They are the backbone of our country.

    We fought for them before.

    And we will fight for them again.

    Conference, time and time again, we have been the only party that is bold enough to do what is needed.

    The only party that is competent enough to do it properly.  

    We were bold enough to create the modern police force, to introduce free state education for every child.

    We were radical enough to launch the Right to Buy, to free the workplace from the dead hand of the state, to give working men the vote and — better late than never — women too.

    We were courageous enough to introduce same-sex marriage.

    And of course, brave enough to take Britain out of the European Union, honouring the biggest democratic mandate in our history.

    All, Conservative, achievements.

    Yes, all of that was us.

    But enough about past glories.

    Actually, how about one more.

    Conference, do you know the one thing we Conservatives have done the most throughout our history?

    Clear up the mess left by Labour.

    And my goodness, they are making one hell of a mess.

    Never in the field of human history have so many been let down by so few.

    All they have delivered is a doom loop of higher taxes, weaker borders, and month after month of chaos.

    They had a plan to win, but no plan for power.

    No vision for Britain.

    They know how to make promises, but not how to deliver them.

    This year, the Prime Minister was asked to name his best moment in office.

    Do you know what he said?

    “Walking into Downing Street.”

    For once, I agree with him.

    It’s all been downhill all the way since.

    What have Labour given us?

    An anti-corruption minister under investigation for corruption.

    A homelessness minister who made her own tenants homeless.

    A Housing Secretary sacked for dodging housing taxes.

    You couldn’t make this stuff up.

    We had a transport secretary fired for stealing a phone.

    And our Ambassador in Washington thrown out in disgrace.

    There is an old joke, that a diplomat is someone sent abroad to lie for their country. Well at least in Peter Mandelson they had a man of experience.

    Just look at the spectacle we saw in Liverpool last week.

    Minister after Minister failing to rule out the tax rises, we all know are coming.

    The Mayor of Manchester touting his own manifesto for the country.

    But to be honest I can’t blame Andy Burnham for that one, who doesn’t want to get rid of this utterly useless weak Prime Minister.

    After five years as Labour leader, people still don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for.

    And you know what the real problem is?

    He doesn’t know himself.

    Today we learn, today we learn that Labour deliberately collapsed the trial of two men accused of spying on MPs for China because the PM wants to suck up to Beijing.

    This is squalid.

    We have got the measure of them.

    Just look at Shabana Mahmood, the new Home Secretary.

    She’s trying to convince us she’s tough.

    Right.

    I remember when she tried to stop foreign criminals being deported. Do you remember that one?

    I remember when she lay down on the ground in front of a Sainsbury’s protesting because they were selling food from Israel.

    So, forgive me, if I treat this new-found tough image with a little scepticism. You remember.

    Labour represents everything that is wrong with politics.

    Rachel Reeves likes to congratulate herself for breaking the glass ceiling.

    But what she’s really broken, is our economy.

    Attacking those who work hard, destroying business confidence, forcing wealth creators to leave the country, piling debt onto our children.

    We know, that in her November Budget of Doom, she will give us all something to cry about.

    The highest business taxes since the 1970s.

    Taxes on farmers.

    Taxes on education – an unprecedented tax punishing parents who work hard to invest in their children’s future.

    Shameful.

    The tax burden is so high.

    It is making Britain poorer.

    Because business is giving up.

    Business is leaving.

    And as they leave, or never start in the first place, people’s livelihoods, people’s hopes, people’s dreams, go with them.

    Grangemouth refinery gone, Merck, BMW, Ineos pulling investment.

    Schools for children with special needs, are shutting their doors.

    Farmers feeling they’ve got no way out.

    The London Stock Exchange dropping out of the world’s top 20 for listings.

    Our party knows that a job is the best route out of poverty.

    We got unemployment to a 40-year low.

    And what has happened since Labour came in?

    A jobs tax.

    Unemployment up.

    Inflation up.

    Borrowing up.

    These are the real-life consequences of a weak, directionless, government.

    Conference, last year, the public voted for change.

    But all they have been given is change for the worse.

    And because they are still angry with us, parties that in normal times would never be seen as a serious option for government are gaining ground, making promises they will never be able to keep.

    Let’s look at what’s on offer out there. for all those disappointed by Labour.

    Reform promising free beer tomorrow.

    Jeremy Corbyn promising free jam.

    Lib Dems promising free lentils.

    All of them promising more spending.

    Blowing up the public finances.

    Whether it’s Starmer, Farage, Corbyn or Davey all these men are shaking the same magic money tree.

    Following the same, failed playbook.

    No plan for growth.

    No honesty about the scale of the challenges.

    And it always leads to the same result.

    More government, more taxes, more debt.

    It’s irresponsible, it’s cynical, and it’s why Britain needs Conservatives back in charge.

    But we can’t beat them, simply by attacking them.

    As George Bernard Shaw said.

    ‘Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.’

    We have to offer something better.

    So, what are we going to do?

    Conference, as you may have heard, I am an engineer.

    My starting point is always to carry out a diagnosis, before producing the blueprint to put it right.

    Since I became your leader, my Shadow Cabinet and I have analysed the problems facing the country.

    Our diagnosis is clear: Britain is being held back by a broken model.

    A model which says that government always knows best.

    That high immigration is always good for the economy.

    That Britain should apologise for its history rather than be proud of it.

    We lost because we accepted the status quo.

    No more.

    When Margaret Thatcher was Leader of the Opposition, she said this.

    “If every Labour Government is prepared to reverse every Tory measure, while Conservative Governments accept nearly all socialist measures the end result is only too plain.”

    She was right. To fix our country, we must reverse Labour’s measures.

    So, we will cancel their vindictive tax on education, Vicki knows what’s coming, we will scrap their tax on family farms, Andrew, we will scrap their tax on family businesses.

    And we will reverse the terrible measures in Angela Rayner’s Unemployment Bill, written by the unions, for the unions.

    A bill that will wrap firms in red tape.

    Cost business £5 billion.

    And make Angela Rayner one of the last people in Britain to ever be legally sacked.

    But conference, simply unwinding Labour measures isn’t enough.

    We are Conservatives, not anarchists.

    I am an engineer, not an arsonist.

    So together, we are going to build something better.

    We are creating a Blueprint for Britain – a new settlement – based on Conservative values.

    So, what’s in it?

    Firstly, securing our borders.

    On Sunday I announced our plan.

    To take the UK out of the ECHR.

    To scrap the Human Rights Act.

    To deport 150,000 illegal immigrants.

    This is a plan, not a slogan.

    Next in my blueprint, work, and welfare.

    If we want to end our over-reliance on immigration, then we must make sure that every British citizen who can work, does work.

    Right now, there are six and a half million working age adults claiming benefits instead of working.

    You heard me right six and a half million.

    That is the entire population of Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, and Manchester.

    Combined.

    Being paid to sit at home all day.

    We cannot expect people to get up and go to work, and pay more and more in taxes, to subsidise millions of others not to work.

    It is not controversial to say this.

    Conference, we have done the hard work.

    And we have a plan to cut welfare spending.

    First, British benefits for British Citizens.

    It is common sense that you should not draw out of a system that you haven’t paid in to.

    Second, we will restrict benefits to those with more severe mental health conditions – not anxiety or mild depression.

    Yes, these challenges are real, and people should get support.

    But they cannot be treated as a reason for a lifetime off work.

    And third, we will restrict Motability vehicles to people with serious disabilities.

    Those cars are not for people with ADHD.

    These are the first steps of a radical reform of our welfare system.

    We will return to its founding principle.

    That support only goes to those that really need it.

    This should be common sense.

    But only the Conservatives understand this.

    Labour, the Liberal Dems, Greens, the nationalists, and Reform are all demanding more welfare spending.

    They don’t care that it’s not fair, but we do.

    After Covid, 2,000 people a day were being signed onto out-of-work sickness benefits.

    It is a national tragedy.

    That in just one year of Labour the latest figure has more than doubled.

    5,000 new people are signing on every single day.

    Many are young people, who are losing the chance to make something of themselves.

    Never knowing what it’s like to pay their own way.

    This isn’t just about saving money – important though that is.

    It’s far more than that.

    It is driven by our deep, Conservative conviction that work is a good in itself.

    And as people work, as they strive, as they provide for themselves and their families, they should not pay more and more of their money in taxes, to a state that provides less and less.

    So, fixing the state is next in our Blueprint.

    Since Brexit and Covid the size of the Civil Service has swollen by over a third.

    There are now more than half a million civil servants.

    And have you noticed?

    Is Government working a third better for you?

    I don’t think so.

    So, we are going to reverse this.

    We are going to cut the civil service back to where it was in 2016.

    And as Conservatives, we don’t just believe in reducing the size of the state.

    I have always said, that while Government should do less, what it does, it should do well.

    Let me give you an example.

    Conservatives are proud of our police.

    Unlike Labour, we will always have their back.

    But security and prosperity cannot exist, in a country where the law is mocked, where crime is ignored, and where criminals laugh at justice.

    Right now, tens of thousands of police hours are wasted every year on “non-crime hate incidents” and form-filling.

    Officers chasing tweets instead of thieves.

    The Shadow Justice Secretary is stopping more fare evaders than Transport for London. Thank you, Rob.

    Conference, we are going to free the police to protect the public.

    Not to chase political correctness.

    Right now, our police are spending 800,000 hours every single year waiting with mental health patients.

    Eight hundred thousand hours.

    That’s the equivalent of 400 police officers doing nothing else all year except waiting around.

    No more.

    Every single officer we free from pointless paperwork.

    We will put back on our streets.

    We will send them after the shoplifters making life a misery for high streets.

    And we will triple stop and search.

    Because the more people we stop and the more people we search, the more knives we take off the streets.

    Across public services, we are developing similarly detailed plans to make things work better.

    In the NHS, industrial action has kept waiting lists high for far too long.

    Enough is enough. We will ban doctors from going on strike.

    In education, Labour have bent over to the teaching unions – and are removing our academy freedoms which have been so successful.

    We will reverse this act of educational vandalism.

    And we will make sure that brilliant schools and teachers have the freedom to do what they do best. Teach.

    Because education should be how people change their lives.

    It should help you develop the skills you need to get on in life.

    It should ensure you get the job you want.

    So, if your name’s Rachel, you can be an economist instead of working, in customer complaints.

    And speaking of customer complaints, let’s talk about university.

    Every year thousands of young people go off to University but leave with crippling loans and no real prospects.

    Nearly one in three graduates see no economic return, and every year taxpayers write off over £7 billion in unpaid student loans.

    Wasted money, wasted talent. Its every year.

    A rigged system propping up low-quality courses, while people can’t get high-quality apprenticeships that lead to real jobs.

    And this is personal for me.

    I did two degrees.

    One in engineering. One in law.

    And I also had an apprenticeship first.

    But while I can’t remember how to do parallel integration.

    I can remember how to fix a broken computer.

    Which I learnt to do during my apprenticeship.

    I was working with adults.

    I was paying my own way.

    And it gave an eighteen-year-old me a self confidence that my university degrees never did.

    And unlike my degrees, I wasn’t left with any debt.

    So, we will shut down these rip-off courses and use the money to double the apprenticeship budget.

    We will be giving thousands more young people the chance of a proper start in life.

    Just like I had.

    Which brings me Conference, to the most important task that we will face, and the centrepiece of our blueprint.

    The reason, why the Conservative Party is the only party in Britain who can be trusted to meet the test of our generation is that none of this works without a strong economy.

    Securing our borders.

    Getting people into work.

    Policing our streets.

    Defending the nation.

    None of it is possible without the money to pay for it.

    And we are the only party with a plan to get our economy back on track.

    It starts with fiscal responsibility.

    We have to get the deficit down.

    And we must also show how every tax cut or spending increase is paid for.

    So today, I am introducing a new Golden Economic Rule.

    Every pound we save, will be put to work.

    At least half will go towards cutting the deficit.

    Because living within our means is our first priority.

    And with the rest, we will get Britain growing and bring down the taxes stifling our economy.

    Over the next decade, Rachel Reeves is going to double the deficit with her borrowing and tax doom loop.

    She is stealing from our children and grandchildren.

    And Conservatives will put an end to it.

    We will always explain – up front – where we will make these savings.

    We’re not going to do what Labour did – promise not to cut public spending, only to snatch away pensioners’ winter fuel payments.

    We are doing things differently.

    Thanks to the hard work of the Shadow Cabinet, we have already identified £47 billion in savings

    Priti has earmarked £7 billion from the overseas aid budget.

    Alex has identified £8 billion from cutting the civil service

    Helen has found £23 billion from welfare.

    Under our Golden Rule – half of those savings will go towards reducing Labour’s deficit.

    With the rest, we are going to unleash our economy.

    That’s the Conservative way.

    Responsibility today. Opportunity tomorrow.

    Like so many young people, all of my first jobs were on the high street.

    Yes, in McDonalds, have I ever mentioned that?

    But it wasn’t just me, my friends were working in similar jobs.

    Cafés, local pubs, family run shops.

    The places that make our high streets what they are.

    The shops and businesses essential to communities in every town and village.

    And so, on Monday, you will have heard Mel, make our commitment to abolish their Business Rates.

    Whether you’re a councillor, a mayoral candidate, a campaigner, I want you to go out there and spread the word.

    That the Conservatives are bringing back the high street.

    Conference, energy is growth.

    It always has been, and it always will be.

    Countries with cheap energy grow faster.

    Countries with expensive energy decline.

    Right now, we pay four times what industry in the US does for electricity.

    The result.

    We are deindustrialising.

    It’s not just manufacturing that is disappearing.

    Not just steel, not just chemicals, not just ceramics, not just oil and gas.

    We are losing our farming industry.

    We are losing our fishing industry.

    These are the foundations of a strong economy, and they are going all because we chose a slogan of Net Zero over a serious strategy for a stronger economy and a better environment.

    So, I am saying, enough.

    I am reversing this.

    We will get rid of the Climate Change Act and replace it with a proper strategy that actually works.

    A strategy which protects the natural environment and landscapes we love.

    A strategy that takes sensible steps to tackle climate change, without bankrupting ourselves in the process.

    We will cut bills for families, slash costs for businesses, end the madness that you have to tear out your boiler, or disconnect your gas hob.

    We are going to bring industry and jobs back home.

    This is real action Conference, not slogans.

    Conference, I am not a climate change sceptic.

    But I am a Net Zero sceptic.

    Britain has already done more than any major country to cut emissions.

    But we cannot have a law which will make this country poorer, while creating jobs abroad and increasing our reliance on hostile states.

    So, we will axe the Carbon Tax on electricity.

    We will scrap Labour’s wind and solar levy.

    And instead, we will give you our Cheap Power Plan.

    Through this plan we will cut bills by £165 for the average family.

    Nearly £5,000 for the average restaurant.

    And over £1,100 for the average pub.

    Those are costs that are passed on to consumers.

    Conference I won’t promise you free beer, but I do want you all to have cheaper beer.

    Now it is time to put British prosperity first, give this country the cheap, reliable energy it needs to thrive again.

    Backing nuclear but also recognising that it is pure folly to ban new oil and gas extraction, while paying to import resources that Norway takes from the very same basin.

    So, when it comes to the North Sea, we have a very simple policy, drill our oil and gas now.

    Conference, you’d would have seen, you will have seen it, out there in the fringes all over Manchester, that this is a Party fizzing with ideas, building our policy programme, setting out our plans.

    A tax cut for our high streets, a helping hand for the young with our first-jobs bonus, reforms to welfare, 10,000 new police officers, tripling stop and search, scrapping the sentencing council, a new removals force, improving behaviour in schools, doubling apprenticeships, support for our veterans, £165 off your electricity bills, drilling in the North Sea, an end to the Energy Profits Levy, scrapping the Family Farm Tax, scrapping the Family Business Tax, scrapping VAT on School Fees, out of the ECHR, a plan for our borders, a plan for a stronger economy.

    And Conference.

    Because of all the savings we’ve found and costed.

    Because of the tough decisions on what the government shouldn’t do.

    Because of our golden economic rule.

    We can afford to make one more announcement.

    As the Conservative party, we know who our people are.

    They are people who work hard.

    They are the people who save hard.

    They are the people who understand the importance of putting down roots.

    They are the people who make sacrifices today for a better life tomorrow.

    They do the right thing.

    Our people are the Brits who want to get ahead in life.

    At the heart of a Conservative Britain is a country where people who wish to own their own home, can.

    I remember the joy, when I got the first set of keys, to my first flat.

    The excitement of opening my own front door for the very first time.

    The smell of the fresh paint. I remember it just like yesterday.

    I want everyone in our country to have that feeling.

    To know, it’s your place, your house, your home.

    We Conservatives believe that owning your own home gives you a real stake in society, roots in your community.

    But our housing market is not working as it should.

    Because there’s a big barrier that keeps getting in the way.

    That barrier, Conference, is the tax you have to pay when you buy your home.

    I haven’t even said what it is yet, but you all know.

    You all know that barrier is stamp duty.

    Young people trapped in the pain of renting.

    Workers who want to further their career.

    Pensioners who want to downsize but can’t afford the thousands of pounds they have to pay in tax.

    Conference, Stamp Duty is a bad tax. It is an unConservative tax.

    The last Conservative Government cut stamp duty for thousands of homebuyers.

    But now we must go further, we must free up our housing market.

    Because a society where no one can afford to buy, or move, is a society where social mobility is dead.

    So I have looked at the Stamp Duty thresholds to see if we can change them.

    I have looked at the rates you have to pay to see if we can lower them.

    I have decided we can’t.

    Because that simply wouldn’t be enough.

    Conference, the next Conservative Government will abolish stamp duty on your home. It will be gone.

    I thought you’d like that one. Thank you.

    That is how we will help achieve the dream of home ownership for millions.

    Home ownership should be a dream that’s open to everyone.

    Abolishing stamp duty on your home is a key to unlock a fairer and more aspirational society.

    We cannot unpick every tax, the debt, the deficit and the damage this Labour government is creating means we cannot do everything all at once.

    Scrapping stamp duty will benefit people of all ages because Conservativism must speak to all generations.

    The young professional, buying their first flat.

    The couple looking for somewhere to bring up their first baby.

    The growing family hunting for their forever home.

    The pensioner who wants somewhere a little smaller, or maybe to move nearer the grandchildren.

    No longer will they be punished with a tax that is a barrier to doing the right thing for them, for their family, and for society.

    And this change will bring wider benefits to our economy, too, because every time a home is sold it triggers a chain reaction of activity.

    Movers, builders, decorators.

    Flat pack furniture and DIY.

    Trips to Next, John Lewis and IKEA.

    And I can afford to do this while still leaving space within my golden economic rule.

    Because that’s the fiscally prudent way to do things.

    That’s what Conservatives do.

    Conference, I want to see a better Britain, where people have a brighter and more prosperous future.

    The Labour Party fails when it follows its principles.

    We fail when we don’t follow ours.

    We are going to follow the same timeless, Conservative principles which have led us to success in the past.

    Personal responsibility.

    Free enterprise.

    Family.

    Freedom of speech.

    People want to know what I stand for; I stand for a government that takes less of your money and doesn’t interfere in your life.

    Where the state does less but does it better.

    Where those who create wealth are welcomed with open arms, not driven from our shores.

    Where reward matches effort.

    Where Britain stands tall in the world.

    I stand for an economy where profit is not a dirty word.

    Where enterprise is supported not crushed.

    I stand for a country where what you put in determines what you get out.

    Where excellence is celebrated.

    I stand for a country where actions have consequences.

    Where we talk about responsibilities as well as rights.

    Where crime is punished and justice is served.

    Where the welfare of victims outweighs the welfare of criminals.

    I stand for a society where free speech trumps hurt feelings.

    Where everyone knows what a woman is.

    Where people are judged by the content of their character not the colour of their skin.

    Where the vulnerable are supported.

    But where freeloaders are told where to get off.

    Conference, I stand for stronger borders and a stronger economy.

    So that the young can fulfil their potential, the old can live out their years in dignity, and everyone can achieve their dreams – to own a home, run a business, raise a family.

    This is the Britain I stand for.

    If it is the Britain, you stand for then stand with me.

    And let’s build it together.”