Summary

Tories would scrap stamp duty, Badenoch tells conference

Live Reporting

Edited by Nathan Williams and Jack Burgess, with Henry Zeffman and Harry Farley at the conference

  1. Badenoch to set out new rule to cut borrowing and taxes

    Joshua Nevett
    Political reporter

    As we've mentioned, Kemi Badenoch will say in her speech that her party will commit to a new economic "golden rule" designed to cut government borrowing and taxes.

    The party says the rule would ensure that half of all savings made by a future Conservative government would be put towards reducing the deficit, which is the gap between spending and tax revenues.

    The other half of every pound saved would be used for policies aimed at growing the economy, including tax cuts.

    She will accuse the Labour government of risking the UK's financial stability with a "borrowing and tax doom loop".

    At the conference, her party has pledged to save £47bn a year from cuts to welfare, the civil service and foreign aid, if it gets back into government.

    It has also made £9bn worth of spending commitments on policies including a £5,000 tax rebate for young people and abolishing business rates for High Street shops.

    Badenoch will attempt to rebuild the party's credibility on the economy and further distance herself from former Tory PM Liz Truss, whose tax-cutting mini-budget spooked financial markets and led to her resignation in 2022 - after just 45 days.

  2. What's happening at the Conservative Party conference today

    Wide shot inside the conference room, showing a speckling of people sitting on chairs watching on, but there are also a lot of chairs emptyEPA

    We're gearing up for Kemi Badenoch’s speech, but here's who else is speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester today:

    10:00

    • Matt Vickers, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party

    10:30

    • Mims Davies, shadow Wales secretary
    • Andrew Bowie, shadow Scotland secretary, and a shadow energy minister
    • Alex Burghart, shadow Northern Ireland secretary and shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

    11:00

    • Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch

    We’ll be keeping an ear across these and bring you any key lines.

  3. Badenoch to deliver first keynote speech as Conservative Party leader

    Badenoch waves as she walks across a stage, wearing a white suit jacket and white top underneath.PA Media

    Kemi Badenoch will deliver her keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference in about an hour - her first as Tory leader.

    She opened the Manchester conference on Sunday telling delegates the Conservatives are "up for the fight".

    In her speech, Badenoch is expected to say her party will commit to a new economic "golden rule" designed to cut taxes and government borrowing, and that the Conservatives are the only party "with a plan to get our economy back on track".

    Badenoch has been announcing a spate of policies in the past week, including plans to remove 750,000 immigrants over five years, and to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.

    She also told the BBC she would take her time to get the policies right, as the party works to claw back support after its heavy defeat in the 2024 general election.

    Our teams in London and at the conference in Manchester are poised to bring you the latest updates and analysis, and you'll also be able to watch Badenoch's speech right here from 11:00.