The four Conservative leadership candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak have made their final pitches to the party's conference in Birmingham
Kemi Badenoch was the last to speak, telling the audience that the Tories "must defend our beliefs and values"
Just before her, Robert Jenrick said the “era of mass migration must end”
Before them James Cleverly pledged to "sell the benefits of Conservatism with a smile", while first speaker Tom Tugendhat promised to rebuild trust through a "new Conservative revolution"
Tory MPs will then pick a final two candidates next week - with party members then voting for the winner, who will be announced on 2 November
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
This has been a surreally jubilant conference.
You wouldn’t think the Conservatives have just had the worst defeat in their history.
James Cleverly is clearly worried that mood is a sign of complacency.
He’s warning Conservatives that they cannot “just wait for the pendulum to swing back to us” or they “might as well go home now”.
Brian Wheeler
Cleverly’s wife Suzie slipped into the hall to sit in front row to hear her husband pay tribute to doctors and nurses who cared for her when she had cancer.
Cleverly says voters told the party to "sort ourselves out" at the general election.
"Let's not make them tell us again," he tells conference.
He says he hadn't planned to run for leader - and jokes that he could have chosen to spend more time with his family and Warhammer figures.
"But I need to do this, for the country that I love," he says.
He talks about his family origins. How his mother came to England from Sierra Leone in the 1960s, and that his father grew up on a council estate.
"This country has given so much to so many," he adds.
Brian Wheeler
Cleverly opts for a podium. He begins with an apology to activists, saying the MPs let them down. A different tone to Tugendhat.
"What's the purpose of our party?" Cleverly asks, opening his speech.
He says the Tories don't exist to be in opposition, but their job is to "serve" the British people.
The Conservative Party needs to get "back on track", he says, but first, "there's something we need to say. Sorry."
He says this is on behalf of the party who "let you down".
Image source, PA MediaA former deputy mayor in London under Boris Johnson, James Cleverly entered Parliament in 2015 and slowly made his way to the position of home secretary under the very man he is trying to succeed.
Cleverly, 55, has been very confident about his chances, telling the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast earlier this month that he “outperformed all the other runners and riders by a county mile".
Some view him as a unifying candidate, bringing together the qualities of One Nation conservatism and the Tory right.
He has been very active on the fringes of the conference, reflecting on what when wrong for the party and admitting the “stop the boats” slogan adopted by Sunak in 2023 set an “unachievable target.”
"It distilled a very, very complicated and challenging problem into a soundbite," he said on Monday.
Brian Wheeler
A 50 second ovation for Tom Tugendhat at the end there.
A few cries of “Tom!” as he soaked up the applause. He overran by four minutes and even seemed to joke about it at one point, saying: “I get it, you’ve had enough”.
The podium has been returned to the stage and James Cleverly is ready to make his pitch to become the next Tory leader.
His introductory promo video promises to unite the Conservative Party and ends with the phrase "let's do this".
We'll bring you the highlights of the shadow home secretary speech's here.
Finishing off his speech, he tells the audience: "I'm not here to manage, I'm here to lead".
He again promises a "new Conservative revolution".
"Our mission is the prosperity and happiness of the British people, and we start today," he ends - to huge applause.
On energy security, Tugendhat says we need to change how we invest, including through new nuclear power plants so the UK is not dependent on "tyrants".
He then praises the role of UK armed forces defending Israel overnight.
Moving on to the health service, Tugendhat says "our NHS is not the best in the world".
He insists trust is key to delivering successful change to the health system.
Tugendhat says it's time for “real growth - not the illusion of growth that that has been boosted by the migration”.
He says migration in the “past 30 years” has left the country “poorer and vulnerable”.
“We need a new Conservative revolution,” Tugendhat says and points to the work of Tory mayors across the country who “focus on delivery not ideology”.
“Conservative leadership changes lives,” he says, promising to “build an economy that works for you”.
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
On immigration, Tugendhat is not just challenging his opponents but his party members too when he says that Conservatives need to accept that bringing numbers down is not “easy”.
He argues that this is not just about foreign courts (that’s a jab at Robert Jenrick) but about visas — saying that numbers have risen because businesses have needed migrant labour.
His promise of a cap on net migration of 100,000 is a revival of the figure used — but never achieved — by David Cameron.
Tugendhat is now challenging Labour's tax policy, noting Prime Minister Keir Starmer is right to say "things will get worse before they get better."
He argues Starmer's "bleak" outlook is already having an impact on the public's finances as he criticises taxation plans "taking us back to the politics of the 1970s".
Tugendhat warns the party has to fight to "rescue our country," from the "rudderless, selfish and greedy" government.
Image source, PA MediaTugendhat tells the crowd he will lead the party back to power for the next election.
He says that neither him, nor the crowd, nor even Labour donor Lord Ali can afford a Labour government - to laughs from the audience.
As prime minister, Tugendhat says he will "never abandon those on the front line," accusing Labour of doing so when last in power.
"We are party of security, law and order," he says.
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
Underpinning the debate about who should lead the Conservative Party is a debate about which voters the party should seek at the next election.
Tom Tugendhat’s answer? All of them.
He just said that the Conservatives need to show Reform voters that they share values; Lib Dems that there are opportunities only they can deliver; Labour voters that freedom is better than “state control”; and non-voters that they can vote Conservative again.
For Tugendhat supporters that will be a sign of the broad appeal he could generate.
His critics may argue, though, that it’s a sign of his failure to come up with a clear argument about what direction he would take the Conservatives in.
Brian Wheeler
First cheers for Tugendhat - with joke about Labour donor Lord Alli.
Tugendhat talks about life before Parliament, saying he was a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan and knows what leadership demands.
He "stood alongside the best" and will "make choices that serve us best", he says.
Tungendhat says the Tory party needs "honesty" to reclaim the support of voters who turned their backs on the Conservatives in July.
He warns the focus needs to shift back to "principles" rather than personality.
"We can do better," he adds.
It's good to be among friends, Tom Tugendhat begins, after a "bruising" election loss in July.
"I can feel the determination and hope," he tells conference.
"I know we can and we will rebuild this party and win again," he says, which receives a loud applause.