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UK Defence Secretary John Healey is delivering his speech at the Labour Party conference.

Healey outlines the government's priority with defence spending, as he argues Labour is making Britain more secure through investment.

He says the government is proud to be behind Ukraine, and sends a message to Russia's President in Moscow: "President Putin, you will not win. Stop the killing, start the talks, agree a peace. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

His remarks are met by a standing ovation in the conference hall and a near minute-long applause.

Healey says that since Labour took office, the government has been able to give the armed forces "the biggest pay increase for two decades", as well as "record levels" of support for veterans and the "biggest increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war".

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A potential flaw in Reeves' employment plan for young peoplepublished at 10:55 BST 29 September

10:55 BST 29 September

Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor

The chancellor’s focus on getting young people the training and employment opportunities has been roundly welcomed.

It could improve life chances, boost growth and curb that booming welfare bill. Benefits, the chancellor says, should be there for those not able to find a job.

But that highlights a potential flaw in the plan.

In the last year, more than 150,000 jobs have been lost in sectors such as retail and hospitality - those which traditionally provide many entry-level positions. And economists say the chancellor’s own policies have played a key role in that weaker jobs market, increases in minimum wages and taxes adding significantly to employers' costs.

One Bank of England survey suggests these may have added 10% to some companies’ wage bills.

So, good intentions may not be sufficient. The challenge for the chancellor is to design a Budget which repairs the public finances but without the kind of tax rises which impair businesses' ability and confidence to invest and create jobs.

And in the meantime, the uncertainty over what may lie in that red box may already have some pressing pause on hiring plans.

During Chancellor Rachel Reeves' media round this morning, one key focus was her announcement of guaranteed paid work placements for young people who've been unemployed for 18 months.

What we know

• The scheme will see paid work placements offered to young people to help them secure full-time employment
• It will be offered to every young person aged 18 to 21 who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without "earning or learning"

• Those who don't take up the offer without a "reasonable excuse" could face sanctions, like being stripped of their benefits

What we don't know

• What the range of jobs placements on offer will be, though Reeves mentioned retail, government and the cultural sector this morning
• If young people will have a choice in what placement they accept

• What businesses have signed up to the programme, though Reeves has said she has the backing of "business organisations"
• What a "reasonable excuse" to opt out of the scheme would look like

Full details will be in November's Budget, when the chancellor sets out the government's tax and spending plans.

Image source, PA Media

Before finishing speaking, Yvette Cooper hits out at the Reform UK Party saying that while Labour is forging new trade deals underpinned by international law, Farage's party wants to "rip up" those rules.

Labour wants to renew Britain, she says, while Reform seeks "every opportunity to run our country down", she adds.

And with that, the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wraps up her remarks at the Labour Party Conference. We'll bring you some more analysis shortly.

The foreign secretary moves on to discuss migration, saying there's a need for countries to cooperate more to tackle smuggling and trafficking.

"Global challenges won't be solved if we wait until they land on our doorstep," Cooper says.

She says confidence in the legal migration system "is lost" when the UK fails to work internationally on the causes of migration or border controls, when more people make perilous journeys.

She says the UK will work on new returns agreements so "that rules can be enforced".

Cooper adds that the UK will lead the international debate on reforming the current migration framework to ensure it tackles illegal immigration.

Image source, UK Pool

After spending 14 years in opposition "watching powerless", Cooper says, she outlines what Labour has achieved in the last 14 months.

She cites three new trade deals with India, the US and the EU. Amongst other achievements, she also mentions the government's sanctions on Russian oligarchs, as well as an "unprecedented" migration deal with France, action against Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation, and developing partnerships with the global south.

"Britain's engagement on the international stage matters now more than ever," she tells the audience.

Beginning by talking about the UK government's decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state, Cooper says: "For decades the UK has pledged support for two states but only recognised one of those. Until now."

Palestinian statehood is an "inalienable right", the foreign secretary says, adding that it is the path to peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

However, she adds "there can be no role for Hamas terrorists" in any future Palestinian state.

Image source, UK Pool

We're now hearing from Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who's kicking off today's proceedings at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

We'll bring you the top lines from her speech here - and you can also follow along by ticking Watch Live at the top of the page.

Image source, PA Media

Today is the second day of the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, where Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be taking the main stage.

The conference begins at around 10:00 BST.

We're expecting to hear from Reeves at around 12:00 BST, which we'll be covering live.

We'll also be hearing from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood at around 15:30 BST.

Other key Labour figures speaking today include Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at 10:05 BST, and Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy at 14:50 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

Meanwhile, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has weighed in on the prime minister's comments about Reform UK's proposed plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain.

Philp tells GB News that Keir Starmer was "completely wrong" to describe the proposed policy as "racist", adding that "there is nothing racist at all about wanting to control our borders".

"It says a lot about Keir Starmer that he dismisses border control plans in that way," he adds. "He was completely wrong, completely wrong to use that word."

Becky Morton
Political reporter

Earlier today on BBC Breakfast, Chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds, which has seen millions of people dragged into paying higher rates.

Tax thresholds - the income levels at which people start paying National Insurance or income tax, or have to pay higher rates - typically increase every year in line with inflation.

However, income tax thresholds were frozen under the Conservatives, and have been since 2021/22.

This means people risk being dragged into a higher tax band, or paying tax on their income for the first time, if they get a pay rise.

Extending the freeze until 2029/30 could raise an estimated £7bn a year.

Earlier, our colleagues at BBC Breakfast heard from Reform UK's Zia Yusuf, responding to Keir Starmer describing his party's policy of scrapping indefinite leave to remain as "racist".

• As a reminder, Reform UK has proposed to scrap indefinite leave to remain - a move which could effectively lead to hundreds of thousands of people who are here legally being deported from the UK, if they do not qualify for visas.

Yusuf says the British public are "sick and tired of having their concerns dismissed" and "sneered at".

"The British people, election after election after election, voted for less immigration and instead got mass, untrammelled, insane amounts of immigration," he says.

"The people watching this programme, a huge amount, and calling them racist will not make this go away."

BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay points out Starmer didn't suggest voters supporting the policy are "racist" but rather the policy itself, to which Yusuf says: "People listening to this programme can draw their own conclusions."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has spoken to BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, after earlier talking to 5 Live. Here's a recap of the main lines:

'Are taxes going up?'

• On BBC Breakfast, Reeves was pressed on the possibility of increasing VAT (the tax is charged at 20% on most goods and services, with lower rates of 5% and 0% for some things). The chancellor said Labour's manifesto commitment - which ruled out VAT rises - still stands
• On the Today programme, she was asked to repeat a promise she made to the Confederation of British Industry in November (CBI) in November, that the government won't be coming back with "more borrowing or more taxes". Reeves declined to repeat the commitment - and said the world has changed, and it's important to "maintain commitments to economic stability"

Welfare spending:

• The chancellor was asked whether she buckles under pressure - referring to U-turns on winter fuel payments and welfare changes this year. She said she had to make a "number of difficult decisions" but that the government has "made the numbers add up" in "every fiscal event"
• Asked if she's going to cut the benefits bill, Reeves said the bill is "too high" and is increasing "too much"

Youth employment scheme:

• Reeves again outlined a guarantee to offer work placements to young people out of work - but couldn't tell BBC Breakfast what specific jobs unemployed young people could be offered

She also spoke about:

• Her commitment to "fundamentally reform" the business rates system and "give a break" to local businesses to support pubs at risk of closing
• And she reiterated Labour's pledge that every primary school will have a library, describing it as "really personal" to her

Chancellor gives little away - but expect taxes to risepublished at 08:46 BST 29 September

08:46 BST 29 September

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The chancellor was again giving little away about the detail of her Budget in her BBC interviews this morning.

When asked if VAT could rise, she said that "the manifesto commitments stand" - a reference not to raise the main rates of tax on working people.

However, she broadly confirmed expectations that taxes in general would need to be increased, blaming the fact that "the world has changed" from wars to tariffs and "we're not immune to any of those things".

For the first time, she also confirmed expectations that the OBR is "set to make changes" to "productivity numbers based on the past productivity experience under the last government" and "we have to respond to those".

The changes made by the OBR to the UK’s underlying rate of growth could add considerably to the gap in the public finances the Chancellor has to bridge in the Budget in late November.

The draft details will be presented to the Chancellor on Friday.

Conversation turns to the prime minister's comments yesterday that the policies of Reform UK are "racist".

"I think you've got to call out policies when they're wrong," says Reeves, "and this is a wrong policy".

It's one thing to say that people here illegally should go, she says.

But it's a different thing to think that "your next door neighbour, who goes to work every day and contributes to this country" will be deported because they weren't born here.

"Those policies are racist, and we will call them out."

Reeves did stress - like the prime minister did yesterday - that it was the policy that Reform was pushing that was racist, and not Reform voters.

Reeves tells the Today programme that it is not just about tax and spending, but economic growth.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in spring, Reeves recalls, that Labour's plans would make the economy bigger.

Robinson then questions the chancellor on how she'll reassure people with pensions, with rumoured tax rises on pension pots.

"There are a lot of people who claim they know what's going to be in my Budget. They don't...a lot of them are talking rubbish," Reeves says.

She cuts Nick off to say that people should wait until the Budget is revealed.

Reeves is now pressed on possible tax rises.

Nick Robinson asks Reeves to repeat what she said to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in November 2024 - that the government is clear it won't be coming back with "more borrowing or more taxes".

Reeves says the world has changed in the last year, which the government isn't immune to. She mentions wars in Europe and the Middle East, US tariffs, and the global cost of borrowing.

Nick Robinson interjects and says: "So taxes are going up..."

But Reeves continues with her point, talking about how the OBR is reviewing productivity numbers.

"It's very important that we maintain those commitments to economic stability," Reeves says.

Robinson says "translating, that means taxes are going up".

Reeves doesn't respond to that specific point.

"Are you as chancellor going to cut the benefit bill?" Robinson asks.

The chancellor says the bill Labour has inherited is too high and increasing too much.

She then turns to the youth employment scheme announced today.

Citing a line from the announcement that "those who refuse the offer of work without a reasonable excuse" will face sanctions, Robinson asks if the phrase "reasonable excuse" is too broad.

"No, being on benefits is not an alternative to being in work," says Reeves.

Robinson says he's asking for evidence that the government has "the stomach" to enact this policy.

"This is not controversial," Reeves says. There have always been conditions on the benefits system, she adds.

Nick Robinson presses the chancellor further on welfare spending, including the rumoured lifting of the two-child benefit cap, introduced in 2017.

He asks Reeves: "Where is this iron clad discipline? Are you ever going to say no to these people?"

Reeves says in "every fiscal event" the government has been able to make the numbers add up through difficult decisions.