Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Wednesday

James Forsyth

Theresa May lifts her party’s spirits – but it won’t last long

Theresa May delivered one of her best conference speeches. In normal times, the political boost she’d get from this would carry her through to Christmas. But these are not normal times—and Brexit will soon reassert itself. There’s a European Council in two weeks time and that will soon dominate everything else. The speech was authentically Theresa May. She cast herself as a centre ground politician, keen on civility and motivated by the national interest. She emphasised how much of a break from the Labour tradition Jeremy Corbyn was, to try and persuade voters that a Corbyn government would be very different from a typical Labour government.

Robert Peston

The three achievements of Theresa May’s speech

Theresa May would never sell herself as a great orator. But that was a good speech, perhaps the most significant of her lifetime in Tory politics. It was an address that achieved three things. It confirmed that she is sticking to her Chequers Brexit strategy - not that she even once uttered the controversial 'C' word. And she tried to acquire some wiggle room from sceptical members, so that she can offer the rest of the EU compromises on both the future trading relationship with them and the insurance policy, or backstop, to keep the Ireland border open. Second, it planted the Tories in the centre of politics, with a pledge to end austerity and loosen the borrowing cap on local councils for housebuilding.

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May exorcises her Tory conference speech demons

Theresa May appeared comfortable on the conference stage today for the first time. It wasn’t just her Dancing Queen entrance or her references to the various nightmares that beset last year’s address. It was also that she was able to defend what she was doing with real passion and conviction.  She also offered a good dissection of the Opposition, claiming that it wasn’t Labour but “the Jeremy Corbyn party”, and contrasting the approach of today’s frontbench with that of Labour’s greatest figures such as Attlee and Callaghan.

Theresa May

Full text: Theresa May’s Conservative conference speech

Thank you very much for that warm welcome. You’ll have to excuse me if I cough during this speech; I’ve been up all night supergluing the backdrop. There are some things about last year’s conference I have tried to forget. But I will always remember the warmth I felt from everyone in the hall. You supported me all the way – thank you. This year marks a century since the end of the First World War. Just a few hundred yards from this conference centre stands a Hall of Memory, built to honour the sacrifice of men and women from this city in that terrible conflict. Inscribed within it are some familiar words: ‘AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN, AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.’ We do remember them.

Steerpike

Watch: Theresa May dances on to the stage at Tory conference

Theresa May has made quite an entrance ahead of her big speech at Tory party conference. The Prime Minister danced on to the stage to the tune of Dancing Queen: https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1047440571025879040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Mr S. wonders whether the PM will still be in the mood for dancing by the end of her speech...

James Forsyth

How Theresa May could be toppled by cock-up rather than conspiracy

James Duddridge has chosen to take advantage of the run-up to the Prime Minister’s conference speech to announce that he’s sent a letter of no confidence in Theresa May to the chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady. This is, to state the obvious, a stunt. I doubt it presages a more serious effort to get to 48 letters and by sending it in before May has even spoken, he has made it clear just how pre-meditated it all is. Right now, the more senior figures in the ERG, the main Brexiter lobby in the party, don’t want a vote of no confidence in May. They calculate, correctly, that she would win it—and that would give her more room to make further compromises in the Brexit negotiations as she couldn’t be challenged for another year.

Steerpike

Tory MP drops a bombshell ahead of Theresa May’s big speech

Poor old Theresa May. The Prime Minister hasn't even got on stage to deliver her speech at Tory party conference and already things are not going quite to plan. Tory MP James Duddridge has announced this morning that he thinks it is time for Theresa May to step down – and that Boris's speech was a turning point in his decision. He said that he had sent his letter to the 1922 committee urging the PM to go: 'I felt the time has come for her to go. I don't think she has performed well, I don't think she is leading us into a strong Brexit and increasing number of colleagues are of that same view' Oh dear...

Tuesday

Tim Morris

Why Brexit could be a boom time for Britain’s ports

Anyone who has followed the news over the past 18 months could be forgiven for thinking that, in our ongoing debate around Brexit, Dover is the only port currently operating within the UK. Its fate, it seems – and by implication, the fate of our other ports – is tied so closely to the outcome of our negotiations that if the right deal isn’t struck, every port in the country will become inert, with roads throughout the UK gridlocked with queues of lorries. Perhaps there's something symbolic in this focus on Dover, our closest connection to the continent and, for many people, their route of holiday travel to Europe. But while Dover is an important gateway, there is much more to British ports.

Isabel Hardman

What Theresa May plans to say in her speech

How does Theresa May plan to reinvigorate her party and send it out, united and happy, after this week's conference? If the extracts of her speech that have been trailed tonight are anything to go by, it's not clear that the Prime Minister knows how to answer that question, either. It's either the case that May is holding back a series of announcements for the speech itself or for individual newspapers, or that she is planning to make motherhood and apple pie look controversial in comparison to the epithets she is going to deliver. The Prime Minister will tell the country that 'our best days lie ahead of us and that our future is full of promise'.

Isabel Hardman

Why Theresa May will care more about what Brady, not Boris, thinks

If Theresa May's sole goal for the Tory conference is to survive it, then she'll likely be less interested in what Boris Johnson was up to at his big ticket rally this afternoon, and more concerned about any comments made by the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady. Brady is famously the man who keeps the letters calling for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, and was introduced at a drinks event earlier in the conference as 'the man who knows where the bodies are buried'. He is effectively the general secretary of the Tory backbenchers' trade union, which makes him extraordinarily powerful.

Steerpike

What did Tory members make of Boris Johnson’s speech?

Boris Johnson’s speech attracted the largest crowd of any conference fringe event. But does Boris have the backing of party members? Mr Steerpike spoke to some activists to see what they made of the speech: Phoebe McCullough, 21, from Twickenham, a student at Sterling university, had this to say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGmUZHsbnV0 John Bennet, 23, from Sterling, said he thought Boris's speech was the highlight of Tory party conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmVY7BifwgM Adrian Hutson, from Belfast, said he thought Boris had fluffed some of his lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmp4sxFxOG8 But while many were supportive of Boris, not everyone was convinced by his calls to unite behind the Prime Minister.

Isabel Hardman

Hancock’s holding line sums up the Tory party’s policy problem

So much of this Conservative conference has felt like a holding line from the party leadership, as though having the event in Birmingham has been inconvenient timing and something to survive, rather than enjoy. Mind you, this is the theme of Theresa May's leadership generally: not only has the Prime Minister survived against the odds over the past year and a half, she has also given the impression that this survival is more important than, say, making decisions on Britain's future trading relationship with the EU, or pushing ahead with domestic reform. If you want a domestic example of how cautious the Tories are being at this conference, you need look no further than Matt Hancock's speech in the hall today.

Steerpike

Anna Soubry turns on young Tories

The Tory tradition of blue-on-blue attacks at the party's conference continues. Today, it's the turn of Anna Soubry to mock young Tory activists. When Telegraph journalist Christopher Hope said that the pictures of empty seats in the main conference hall didn't tell the full story of what is happening in Birmingham and that many fringe meetings were buzzing with young activists, Soubry replied with the following: Mr S isn't sure that's quite the right way to encourage the next generation...

Ross Clark

Why didn’t the Tories back down over civil partnerships earlier?

Much as I deplore the integration of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law there are some battles which really aren’t worth fighting. Today, Theresa May announced that civil partnerships are to be made available to heterosexual couples for the first time. This follows a ruling by the Supreme Court in June that the current arrangements – whereby gay couples can enter into a civil partnership but not heterosexual ones – are in conflict with the convention. Why on Earth did the Government resist this change in the first place when it was so plainly obvious that it was discriminatory? David Cameron made a huge fuss about enabling gay marriage – presenting it as if it were the greatest breakthrough in individual freedom since the Magna Carta.

Isabel Hardman

Why Tory members are deserting the conference hall

One of the stories of this Conservative conference is the contrast between the crowd and atmosphere in the main conference hall, and the popularity of the fringes elsewhere. In previous years, the party has suffered stories about how corporate the whole event is, with members deciding not to bother with the expense of the whole thing. But this year, while there are more members turning up, they're finding very little to keep them in the hall. Yesterday, a speaker in the hall inadvertently offered an explanation for this. The party has been doing more to increase contributions 'from the floor', she told the audience, saying it was important to involve members more than in the past. She then invited the next group of speakers 'from the floor' up to speak.

Steerpike

Jo Jo’s no show at Boris’s conference speech

Boris Johnson’s fringe speech certainly went down well with members today, when a packed auditorium erupted in cheers as he rallied against the Chequers deal. But it looks like one person was less keen on Boris's attempt to pitch his leadership. As the Sun’s Harry Cole pointed out, Boris’s brother Jo Johnson did not attend his older brother's conference speech, despite being on the VIP guest list and having a seat reserved from him on the front row. Mr S didn't see Boris's sister Rachel there either, who was also on the guest list. https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1047082792998322176 As a minister in the transport department, it would have been a little awkward for Jo to attend a broadside against his boss, the Prime Minister.

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson sets out his stall – but stops short of a challenge

Boris Johnson's Brexit rally was everything that No 10 had been dreading. Queues for the event began three hours in advance and saw activists block stairways and corridors across the conference hall in a bid to see the former foreign secretary's moment in the spotlight. Some members in the audience even dressed up for the occasion – with Boris Johnson t-shirts. The front row was filled with Johnson's Parliamentary supporters – including David Davis, Zac Goldsmith and Iain Duncan Smith. His siblings – Jo and Rachel – were notably absent despite both attending this year's conference. Proving he is still a star attraction, Johnson received a standing ovation as soon as he arrived on stage.

Boris Johnson

Full text: Boris Johnson’s Tory fringe speech

Good afternoon my friends and fellow ConHomers. It is great to be here in Birmingham where so many thoroughfares in the city are already named after our superb Conservative mayor. I know this conference is going to be a staggering success because just in the last couple of days about a dozen far left Momentum activists have kindly pledged their loyalty by ringing my private mobile phone. I put them straight on to Brandon. As Paul Goodman might confirm, I am not naturally of a timid disposition. It is not my way to confide my innermost fears. But since this is only a fringe meeting, unlikely to be widely reported, I will reveal that I have one overriding anxiety about the current political scene, both domestic and international.

Steerpike

Watch: Sajid Javid’s speech gaffe

Poor old Sajid Javid. While a huge queue of Tory activists were waiting to hear from Boris Johnson, there were empty seats in the main hall as the Home Secretary gave his speech. Things went from bad to worse for Sajid when he tripped over his words: 'We will fight hope... hate... fight against hate, with hope' https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1047086334555377664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Oh dear...

Sajid Javid

Full text: Sajid Javid’s Conservative conference speech

It’s a huge privilege to be standing here as Home Secretary. Now I know the question on your mind. So let’s just deal with it upfront. Yes, I did watch Bodyguard. No, it wasn’t very realistic. For a start, my codename is not Lavender, and she didn’t even do the power stance! But let me tell you about another story. A story which started in the 1960s. Abdul-Ghani Javid left Pakistan and landed in Heathrow. He spent what little he had on a coach ticket, had his first night here in Birmingham, then continued up north to Lancashire to find work in a cotton mill. After standing outside the mill for weeks, he got that first job, and started a family.