Robert Jenrick begins his speech by saying it's good to be home. He explains he's a "Midlands man" and grew up nearby in Wolverhampton.

He talks of his family history, speaking of his parents who came to Birmingham 50 years ago in 1974. His father got a job at an iron foundry.

But their dreams were on hold because "Britain was broken," he says, with a new Labour government "so fresh but already so stale."

"We [the Conservatives in opposition at the time] were broken too," he tells conference.

Brian Wheeler

The podium has been removed again! Like Tugendhat, Robert Jenrick is trying to emulate David Cameron’s notes-free style.

Image source, PA Media

Robert Jenrick has been in politics for a decade now, after leaving behind his career as lawyer and director of an auction house.

The 42-year-old grew up in Shropshire, is married and has three children. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2014 as the MP for Newark - a position he still holds.

Jenrick's most recent government role was as immigration minister from 2022 to 2023, before he resigned over former PM Rishi Sunak's now-defunct plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda - stating that it did not go far enough.

Prior to this, he served as housing secretary under Boris Johnson.

As for his hopes as leader for the Conservatives, he says the party needs to confront hard truths.

He has also led calls for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human rights.

On Tuesday, he stood by his claim that British special forces are "killing rather than capturing terrorists", despite a backlash.

We'll be hearing from Robert Jenrick next, as he takes his place on the stage.

His introductory video accused Labour of no longer being the party of the "working man" and highlighted the importance of keeping political promises.

You can watch his speech by pressing the watch live button at the top of the page.

Brian Wheeler

Cleverly gets a standing ovation lasting more than a minute from an energised crowd.

His speech was even longer than Tugendhat’s. I think we can forget about the 20 minute time limit.

"So if you want a winner, choose one," Cleverly firmly tells the audience.

He tells them to choose someone "who is not afraid of the public but who is popular with the public and choose the candidate who Starmer, Farage and Davey fear the most.

"Because I will not accept defeat," he says.

He says he wants "to get the heel of the state off of your neck, get their noses out of your business and get their hands out of your pocket."

The vision Cleverly says he will deliver is "positive" and "Conservative".

"Let's rebuild this party of ours, council by council, seat by seat... one party with one purpose.

"To look to the future with one voice and say it is morning once again in this great country of ours."

The last line there is another reference to Ronald Reagan, who he mentioned earlier in his speech.

The Conservatives can deliver for the British people again “with me as your leader”.

Leadership, he says, is about “making the tough decisions” when you “get that ugly phone call in the middle of the night about keeping this country safe”.

Taking a pot shot as his less experienced colleagues he says now is “not the time for an apprentice”.

“I can unite this party around conservative values” and take the Conservative back into power in four years.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

A clear dig at Robert Jenrick, the frontrunner, from James Cleverly there.

Talking about measures he introduced as home secretary to reduce immigration, he says: “I didn't complain about immigration or walk away from the challenge.”

Jenrick was Cleverly’s number two as immigration minister but quit late last year saying that Cleverly and Rishi Sunak were not willing to go as far as he wanted.

Cleverly is now highlighting his ministerial record, arguing the Conservative party needs someone who can get it winning again.

He cites his experience as foreign secretary in dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as telling Chinese premier Xi Jinping "do not invade Taiwan" to his face.

The shadow home secretary pauses briefly as the audience applauds him, with some shouts of support heard from across the hall in Birmingham.

Cleverly also notes he was the first foreign minister to jet off to Israel after the 7 October attacks last year to express his support.

"Leadership is about standing by our values," he says, as he renews his support to Israel and its right to defend itself.

Cleverly talks of his role with the London Assembly, where he says he "took on the unions and won" and "kicked out corrupt cops" from the Met police.

As party chairman, Cleverly says he picked Conservative candidates "in record time" for the 2019 general election.

He says he got their campaign machine "ready to fight" in 2019, when Boris Johnson was elected and they "got Brexit done".

He pledges "no more stitch ups" on candidate selection, which receives a large round of applause.

"We need to get rid of bad taxes, like stamp duty," Cleverly says.

They need to make sure that "work always pays," he adds - and that the state never takes more than "half of any pound that you have earnt."

He calls for a party of "free markets and freedom".

These are his values, Cleverly says.

But, he says "talk is easy, doing is hard," and the party needs a leader "who can deliver from day one."

Cleverly says British science and engineering “shaped the modern world”, listing off a series of inventions including vaccines, the steam engine, the light bulb and the bicycle.

The UK needs more a “yes we can” attitude to building homes and cutting the cost of red tape, he adds.

Conservatives need to “build, build, build” and remake the argument for conservativism and capitalism "by our actions not just our words”.

Cleverly says the Conservatives will win the country back again, describing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as "two sides of the same coin".

"Both think life was better in the past," he says.

In fact, the shadow home secretary declares, "our best days are ahead of us".

Image source, PA Media

Cleverly continues with his attack on the Labour Party.

"They're out of their depth," he says as he reiterates the Conservatives need to hold them to account.

He then goes on to attack other opposition parties.

On the Liberal Democrats, he describes them as "too wet," - and leader Ed Davey as "soaking wet", which draws laughter from members.

He is particularly harsh when it comes to Reform UK, branding them a "pale imitation of our great party".

"Reform didn't deliver Brexit or cut migration, we did," he says as he rejects suggestions of a merger between the two parties.

His remarks are met with applause from the audience.

Let's remind people what the party has done, Cleverly tells the audience.

He says Conservatives took people out of factories and into schools, gave the country three female prime ministers and started the Met police.

The party delivered Brexit and cut crime, he adds. "That is a legacy we should be proud of," he says.

Labour are comparatively "swamped in scandal," Cleverly claims. He accuses them of allowing a "mass release of prisoners" and "inflation busting pay rises".

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

“Let’s be more normal.” That is the kernel of James Cleverly’s pitch - consensual, likeable, amiable - those are the characteristics Cleverly is trying to project.

This is a policy-light speech, but does that matter?

The audience here might want a sense of the person who might lead them for at least four years more than they want to know about policies they are not in government to implement.

This is totally unscientific but from where I’m sitting it feels this speech is going down better in the hall than Tom Tugendhat’s did.

Brian Wheeler

Cleverly’s vow to “sell the benefits of Conservatism with a smile” goes down well.

Tugendhat also promised more positivity. Cleverly goes a bit further. He tells Tories they need to be “normal”.

Cleverly now says that his political hero was former Republican US president Ronald Reagan.

"He knew what optimism was," he says.

He mentions how Reagan cut taxes and regulation, and still "won a landslide. Let's be more like Reagan... positive, optimistic, let's be more normal."

He tells the audience to "sell the benefits of Conservatism with a smile," which gets an applause.

If they do this, Cleverly adds, it will "see off the threat of Reform, and the Lib Dems, and win back Labour," and bring back Tories who "stayed at home" in the last general election.

Image source, Reuters

Cleverly says it’s “no surprise I followed my parents footsteps” - going from setting up a small business into public service.

He talks a bit about his backstory, including a tough start in life growing up “a mixed-race kid in Lewisham".

He then speaks about trying to join the army but getting injured – only to serve in the Royal Artillery as a reservist for 30 years.

He then set up a small business that folded in the 2008 financial crash.

“I know what’s it like to work crazy hours to put food on the table,” he says.

“What’s like to stumble and fall, to get up again and again and again.”

Cleverly begins to talk about optimism.

He speaks of his wife Susie recently battling with breast cancer - it "rocked our lives", he says.

The shadow home secretary then thanks the NHS for saving her life.

Her courage, determination and optimism are why we are here today, he adds, "because we can make tomorrow better".