Image source, Reuters

Badenoch is now setting her sights on the civil service, which she claims has grown in size by over a third since Brexit.

"There are now more than half a million civil servants," she says. "And have you noticed?"

She promises, if elected, to cut back the civil service in size to where it was nearly a decade ago.

But she singles out police, claiming the Tories will always "have their back".

Tens of thousands of hours of police work are wasted on "non-crime hate incidents" and "form-filling", she adds.

"We are going to free the police to protect the public, not to chase political correctness."

For context: Non-crime hate incidents are defined as alleged acts perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards people with certain characteristics, such as race or gender. They are recorded to collect data on "hate incidents that could escalate into more serious harm" but do not amount to a criminal offence, according to Home Office guidance, external

Image source, EPA

Speaking now of the welfare system, Badenoch says the party will return to its "founding principle".

"That support only goes to those that really need it."

She says the other political parties are all demanding more welfare spending - not caring that "it's not fair".

Talking of the Covid pandemic, she says 2,000 people a day were being signed onto sickness benefits - calling it a "national tragedy".

Now, "5,000 new people are signing on every single day," she adds.

"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 is about more than saving money, she continues, but also a conviction that "work is a good in itself".

Badenoch doesn't mince her words here: "Secure our borders, take the UK out of the ECHR, scrap the Human Rights Act and deport 150,000 illegal immigrants."

Work and welfare would be next, with Badenoch saying they have a plan to reduce working-age welfare by at least £23bn.

"We must make sure that every British citizen who can work, does work," she says.

Badenoch says she wants “British benefits for British citizens”, because it’s “common sense” that people should not draw from a system if they haven’t paid into it.

Her party would also restrict benefits to those with more severe mental health conditions, and “not anxiety or mild depression”, and also restrict the motability vehicles to people with serious disabilities.

• For context: The European Convention on Human Rights is a treaty signed by 46 countries which sets out freedoms and rights for individuals. It was created after World War Two, and the UK played a significant role in its drafting. Cases are ultimately heard by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, by judges from signatory countries. It is not part of the European Union.
• The Human Rights Act was passed by a previous Labour government, and incorporates the ECHR into British law.

Badenoch now turns to setting out what the party will do - including reversing some of Labour's measures.

She says they want to scrap Labour's "vindictive tax on education... their tax on family farms [and] their tax on family businesses".

There is a huge round of applause when she says that farmers are the "backbone of our country" and "we fought for them before - we will fight for them again".

However, she adds that reversing Labour's measures is "not enough".

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

"Unemployment up. Inflation up. Borrowing up."

That's how the Tory leader describes Labour's term thus far.

Badenoch moves on to how the government "deliberately collapsed" the trial of two men accused of spying on MPs for China, referring to charges being dropped against two men accused of spying for China because of insufficient evidence.

"The PM wants to suck up to Beijing...this is squalid," she announces to the room.

Now onto Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Badenoch expresses scepticism around her "new found tough image".

"I remember when she tried to stop foreign criminals being deported," claims Badenoch.

Onto the chancellor, Badenoch says: "Rachel Reeves likes to congratulate herself for breaking the glass ceiling…what she’s really broken…is our economy."

She accuses Reeves of destroying business confidence, piling debt "onto our children", and forcing wealth creators to leave Britain.

Image source, Reuters

Last year the public voted for change, but all they have been given is change for the worse, Badenoch says, taking a swipe at Labour.

She says the public are still angry at the Conservatives, and because of that, parties that "in normal times" would not be seen as a serious option are gaining ground and "making promises they will never be able to keep”.

“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."

She accuses the leaders of those parties and Keir Starmer of “shaking the same magic money tree” and using the same “failed playbook”, saying it will lead to higher taxes and more debt.

It’s irresponsible, she says, adding her party has to offer something better.

Labour won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election - the worst Conservative result in history in terms of lost seats.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent, at the conference

For a number of the shadow cabinet speeches this week, the conference hall was half-empty.

Not today. I’m near the back and it’s standing room only as the Tory members crowd in to hear their party leader speak.

Badenoch continues to explain what "drift looks like" - citing things like allowing trade unions to "overturn years of progress in school standards" and Labour's "one-in-one-out" immigration deal with France which she says "ends up letting 100 people in, for every one who leaves".

She then references policies and actions taken by previous Conservative governments - including work on education and employment.

Badenoch says the party is fighting for "people who work hard", small business owners, and victims of crime", among others.

"We fought for them before, and we will fight for them again," she adds.

Image source, PA Media

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

Speaking on immigration, she says "millions of people" will want to move to the UK, and will be able to do so if the borders are "not secure".

She says she wants "brilliant minds and great talents" to come, but at the moment the UK is accepting hundreds of thousands of people, some with "no skills at all".

"This broken immigration model is heaping pressure on our public sector," she says.

She lists wait times to see a GP, unions, potholes, and the "vexatious" prosecution of veterans as examples of a country on the wrong path.

"Underneath all of this, is a society which is struggling to cope" with "getting poorer" and the "erosion of a sense of who we are as a country".

After reeling off a list of names of people in the party who she thanks - to applause and cheers - Badenoch shares how "honoured" and "privileged" she feels to be the party leader, having started out as an "activist" door stepping the public two decades ago.

"You are my family - in many ways quite literally - I married the deputy chairman of my association," she says of her husband, Hamish, which sparks to raucous laughter.

Having steered this country through its "darkest days", she vows that the Tories will be the only party to bring Britain into "an era of prosperity and security".

But we must be frank about the problems our country faces, warns Badenoch, which have changed since the 40s.

"People had a sense of pride in our national story...I am not sure young people feel that way any more," she says.

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

Image source, UK Pool

Badenoch continues to thank supporters for "standing by" the party - the only political party, she says, that can "meet the test of our generation".

A stronger economy and stronger borders are the two main focuses - "everything else relies on getting this right", she says, citing national security and healthcare among other things.

"A weak economy and weak borders mean a steady decline - I reject that fate," she says to applause.

The Conservatives can "save Britain from that fate", the party leader insists.

Badenoch begins by saying only her party can deliver the strong economy and borders that will give people a more prosperous future.

Every generation must face its test, she says, saying in the 1940s it was the fight against fascism, and in the 1980s it was "to banish socialism and deliver prosperity".

In the 2020s the test is to "restore a strong economy", secure borders, and "rebuild Britain's strength", she says.

Kemi Badenoch is about to take to the stage in Manchester to deliver her first keynote speech at the conference as Conservative Party leader.

We'll bring you key lines right here, and you can follow along by tapping watch live at the top of this page.

It’s not been the easiest year for Kemi Badenoch. She took over as leader of the Conservatives in November 2024, just a few months after the party's worst general election defeat in its history.

The Tories have faced poor polling since, and she's faced criticism for her performance as leader from some within her party.

Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley Lord Ben Houchen told the BBC last week that the Tories should have got "our show on the road much sooner than we have" and that "a space" had been created for Reform to "steal a march".

In April, an article published in the Critic magazine - written by two anonymous Tories - called for her to stand down as party leader.

It described her as "unpopular and dislikeable and demonstrably no sort of electoral asset to the party".

Badenoch dismissed the piece as “cowardice”, telling BBC Newsnight that “anything that doesn't have someone's name to it, I don't think I need to worry about at all".

Defending her track record on Sunday, Badenoch said she wouldn't "rush out" new policies and would instead take the "time to get it right".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her husband, Hamish, have been spotted leaving their hotel in Manchester and heading to the party conference venue.

We'll keep you updated on the keynote speech she's due to give soon - her first as leader of the party.

Party conferences are odd thingspublished at 10:51 BST 8 October

10:51 BST 8 October

Rob Watson
BBC political correspondent, at the conference

What I've found striking at this one is the disconnect between people here who are not members of the Conservative Party, such as media types, experts and lobbyists and people who are.

The former will frequently tell me how flat they think it all is and how the Conservatives are facing extinction after nearly 200 years as the most powerful beast in the electoral ecosystem.

The members, by contrast, at least the ones I have met, are nowhere near as gloomy.

They smile and enthuse and will happily engage with sceptical journalists. Having covered conferences in this country off and on since the 1980s - and with the press pass to prove it! - I think part of it is almost atomic in the sense that party activists are just made of tougher and/or different stuff to the rest of us.

But they are also hoping Labour will crash and burn and that come the next election, Reform will just look too risky for some.

Image source, Robert Watson/ BBC

Kemi Badenoch's speech this morning marks the end of this year's Conservative party conference. In recent days, the party has announced a number of policies they would seek to implement should they win the next election.

Here's a quick reminder of what they've pledged so far:

• Leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): Badenoch argued such a move was necessary to "protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens"
• Deporting 750,000 migrants: a new borders plan would require officials to remove 750,000 illegal immigrants within five years, while also banning people entering the UK without permission from ever claiming asylum
• Scrapping the Climate Change Act 2008: the Tory leader said they want a "cleaner environment for our children" but added "Labour's laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions"
• Implementing a tax rebate for young home buyers: the initiative would provide a £5,000 tax rebate to help young people buy their first home
• Shrinking government spending by £47bn: the party said savings would come from a range of cuts including ending the use of hotels to home asylum seekers
• Implementing an economic "golden rule": the rule would ensure half of all savings made by a future Conservative government would be put towards reducing the deficit

Stay with us as we bring you any further details on the above once Badenoch begins speaking shortly.

Well this is awkward... can you spot it?

A chocolate bar handed out in a goodie bag at this convention misspells the name of the country the Tories are aspiring to run.

The Lib Dems have taken a jab at this blunder, with a spokesperson describing that the party's economics as "almost as bad as their spelling".

Organisers blamed a printing error and removed the chocolate bars from the goodie bags - but not before it went viral online.

"Snickers all round at this merch mishap," is one of our favourite quips on X.

Kate Whannel
Political reporter, at the conference

Despite lots of empty seats at this conference, Kemi Badenoch yesterday insisted there is a "buzz" in the air, rejecting suggestions that her leadership was failing to energise party activists.

The main hall has not been full for speeches by members of the shadow cabinet, but Badenoch said her own speech had been "standing room only". She said that many of the popular events took place not in the main hall but at fringe events, where people were having to queue to get in.

Badenoch also argued that because the party was no longer in government there were fewer "people turning up wanting government favours".

This is her first party conference as Conservative leader, having been elected nearly 12 months ago.

Speaking to the BBC, she said the party had experienced a "tough defeat at the last election" but added: "We can get through it, we will come through it."

"There are sunlit uplands ahead."

As Badenoch focuses on economy today, Conservatives spy an opportunitypublished at 10:08 BST 8 October

10:08 BST 8 October

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, at the conference

A "golden rule" - that’s what we are told Kemi Badenoch will unveil in her big speech today.

It says that for every pound a Conservative government saves (that’s to say cuts), at least half would go on paying down the national debt.

The thing is, one of the themes of this conference has been that the possibility of a Conservative government feels pretty remote right now, and that’s not just because the next general election is probably almost four years away.

It’s also because the Conservatives went down in their worst defeat ever 15 months ago, and since then – mostly under Badenoch’s leadership – things have only got worse.

Yet in that bleak landscape, some Conservatives spy a slight opportunity.

They believe that despite Liz Truss’s brief and chaotic tenure as prime minister, the Conservatives’ reputation as the party of economic discipline and sound money remains surprisingly robust.

They believe that this will only be bolstered by the difficult economic decisions the government is facing at the Budget, while Reform UK has, on some issues such as welfare, moved in a bigger-spending, bigger-state direction.

That’s why Badenoch will focus on the economy today.