Tugendhat is asked by an audience member whether he would abolish VAT on private schools, a policy the Labour government plans to implement from January next year.

“Yes,” Tugendhat says directly, earning a round of applause. "This isn’t just a bad policy. It’s a vindictive and nasty policy", he adds.

He outlines what he sees as a few problems of the policy.

First, he says, Labour did wait for the beginning of the school year to give parents a chance to change schools if needed.

Second, Tugendhat claims that the government is making everybody pay. Although the VAT will only apply to private schools, he says the policy could lead to larger class sizes in states schools - which he adds will cost more to taxpayers.

Thirdly, he also accuses the Labour government of not just taking VAT from private schools, but also from private medical care and care homes.

Tugendhat ends the main section of the Q&A by answering a question on restoring the winter fuel payment.

"At the moment I would never scrap it," he says.

When pressed to commit to restore it in the future, he laughs and says he is "not going to be writing a budget for four years' time".

He is now answering questions from members in the audience, with fellow leadership contender Kemi Badenoch due up next when the session ends.

Image source, Getty Images

The session moves on to Tugendhat's record on membership of the European Union - and whether he would defend his support for Remain ahead of the 2016 referendum.

"I don’t need to defend it, it’s in the past," he says, "Ever since the decision was taken, I supported the democratic will of the British people. Ever since it was taken."

On the following question about the UK's relationship with Europe, he is asked whether he's in favour of withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights - a major talking point in the leadership contest.

Tugendhat says: "Opt out of the bits you can, reform the bits that aren't working, and if that doesn't work, be prepared to leave."

Image source, Getty Images

Moderator Christopher Hope asks Tugendhat whether he would consider elevating former PM Boris Johnson to the House of Lords.

He says Johnson "did some amazing things" while in charge and thanked him for "stepping up" as the UK faced one of its most difficult periods in recent history during the pandemic. He also praises Johnson's "heroic" stance in support of Ukraine in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion.

However, Tugendhat bypasses the question on getting Johnson a peerage or whether he would let him be a Tory MP once more.

He adds it would be a decision for local Conservative members, should Johnson chose to stand for selection to be a Tory MP again.

David Cornock
Political correspondent

Tom Tugendhat has shrugged off questions about his inexperience in government - with a dig at his rivals’ lack of a military record.

The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran told the Conservative conference: "I'm not going to hold against anybody their inexperience in combat or their inexperience in foreign affairs.

"I won't hold against them the areas where they didn't serve their country and put their lives on the line. They have served in other ways and I think we should respect that."

Answering questions on stage in Birmingham, he peppered his answers with references to his military career.

Asked by interviewer Christopher Hope if he was a spy, he said he was a "uniformed intelligence officer".

When Tugendhat is asked how he would deal with the threat of Reform UK, he replies that it is his job is to reform the Conservative Party, not to become like Nigel Farage's party.

"My job is to champion the Conservative voices around the United Kingdom," he adds, to another round of applause from the Tory supporters in the conference hall.

Image source, PA Media

Tugendhat says Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has "failed" and Labour in power means "time and again" that government debt and unemployment rises, which he says leads to the Conservatives needing to come in and sort it out.

The Tory leadership hopeful goes on to outline his plan to win back support ahead of the next election.

Tugendhat echoes colleagues as he insists there is a need to "rebuild trust in the Conservative family" and in politics generally.

He says the UK "desperately" needs stronger leadership to be in a better position to face challenges posed by countries like China and Iran.

Tugendhat argues growing the economy will be key to achieve the better future he says the Tories can "lead" the UK to.

We're now hearing about Tugendhat's stance on taxation, pointing out that he voted against the last government's tax rises.

He then argues lower levies leads to better economic decisions being made by the public.

"The lower you get tax in a balanced way with sound money the greater you get growth", Tugendhat says.

"The reason you do is that free people make better decisions than people who are controlled by the state."

Tugendhat is now being asked about what he would do on his first day in office if elected, a question which prompts him to apologise for the Conservative Party's performance at the last election.

He says he would immediately reform the "central party machinery", arguing the top echelons of the party let activists and voters down with their conduct.

"I'm sorry they all let you down," he adds, as he paid tribute to all the volunteers and candidates who went door-to-door in the run up to the vote to boost support.

Image source, PA Media

Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat is asked about the kind of conservativism he believes in, rejecting a characterisation he is a "wet" - that is to say on the left of the Tory party.

He says the question is "using the language of the socialists" to disparage Conservatives.

To a large round of applause from the audience, he says "we are all Conservatives and we share conservative values".

Tugendhat goes on to cite his rejection of voting for a rise in national insurance contributions and vaccine passports during the Covid-19 pandemic, posing the rhetorical question: "Does that make me right wing or left wing?"

Image source, Gett

Tom Tugendhat has just begun his first chance to woo party members at the main stage of Tory conference in Birmingham today. We'll bring you all the key lines here shortly.

Maternity leave is likely to be a leading topic after the row fellow leadership contest hopeful Kemi Badenoch sparked over the weekend, who will be up after him.

Tugendhat distanced himself from her comments, adding that it is “incredibly important that women have the ability to choose how to live their lives”.

The shadow minister for security can also expect some intense grilling on immigration, which remains a key challenge for the Tories.

He has called for clear immigration targets with a maximum level for net migration of 100,000 people a year.

Tugendhat also says he wants to focus his efforts on winning back the trust of voters and strengthening foreign policy, while reforming public services to better serve the British public.

Image source, Reuters

We can now bring you fresh comments from Kemi Badenoch on the maternity pay row she appeared to spark at the weekend.

As she walked around Birmingham's International Convention Centre, she was asked whether she regretted her remarks - including that maternity pay is "excessive".

"I don't regret things that I didn't say but thank you for asking," she told ITV News.

"If we want to fix maternity pay we're making sure government isn't intervening in business excessively," she added. "Businesses can then pay more."

Speaking at a Conservative Women's Organisation event, the topic came up again. Badenoch said: "I think there are things that we have to do to make sure that we make life comfortable for those people who are... starting families," listing examples such as maternity pay, childcare provision and housing.

"We need to give people confidence. People are scared to have families, they're worried about whether they can afford them, they're worried about whether they will have birth trauma," she added.

As a reminder, we'll be hearing more from Badenoch alongside fellow leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat at an event from 14:30. The other two candidates, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick, will be doing the same tomorrow.

One of those running to be the Conservatives' next leader is James Cleverly, who's told his party they need to stop "behaving like bloody children" in order to win back voters.

The shadow home secretary made the comments when he was asked which policy he would prioritise to win back voters.

"The first thing we need to do is win back the trust and support of the voters," he said.

"We behaved appallingly," he added.

Asked how the party could do this, he replied: "Stop behaving like bloody children."

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from the conference

Image source, Reuters

In a development that would probably horrify them both, Liz Truss appears to agree with Jeremy Hunt.

Earlier, Hunt tried to warn this surprisingly cheery Conservative conference that they needed to reckon with having been “trounced” at the general election.

Now the former prime minister has a strikingly similar message for the party’s leadership candidates.

“So far I haven’t seen any of the candidates really acknowledge how bad things are in the country as a whole and frankly for the Conservative Party,” she said.

“I think there’s a bit of Panglossian [thinking that] all we need to do is unite, all we need to do is show competence and we’ll be ushered back into office."

Truss’s prescription is very different to what Hunt’s would be - remember he was briefly her chancellor and used the time to undo almost every measure in her mini-budget.

But it’s notable that two of the Conservatives’ most senior figures are trying to shock the party faithful into a more serious interrogation of their predicament.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from the conference

The last time the Conservative Party conference was in Birmingham, Liz Truss was their leader and prime minister, and her mini-budget was unravelling day by day amid financial and political turmoil.

Now a former MP as well as a former prime minister, Truss is currently being interviewed by the Telegraph journalist Tim Stanley at a fringe event.

She is unsurprisingly no fan of the new government, saying: “We’re already a socialist country.” But she lays some of the blame for this at the door of Conservative governments too, who she said had failed to reverse a “Blairite Brownite consensus” and had “gone along with the economic orthodoxy” and “essentially outsourced economic policy” to the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Truss is fighting some old battles here. It’s clear that she blames those two economic institutions in large part for her precipitous fall. “Conservatives won’t succeed until we get rid of the Office for Budget Responsibility,” she said, before accusing the Bank of England of seeking to “blame their mistakes on me”.

Truss is arguing that the “new divide in British politics” is between “the establishment”, which includes institutions like the above but also the former prime minister Theresa May, the current chancellor Rachel Reeves — “both former employees of the Bank of England” — and senior bureaucrats.

Image source, PA Media

We're now hearing from former-prime minister Liz Truss, who is sharing her views on what's in store for the Conservatives in the future and her diagnosis of what went wrong for the party.

She argues Labour doesn't have the "right solutions" to address the UK's current problems - but makes the case the Tory is partly to blame for the situation.

"A lot of the problems we’re facing now are a result of us failing to turn things round,” she says, “We failed to take on the Blairite, Brownite state orthodoxy.”

"The consequence is we got the worst election results for the Conservatives since 1834. Secondly, the country is moving in the wrong direction."

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from Birmingham

Image source, Reuters

Tom Tugendhat foam finger, anyone? Or perhaps a Kemi Badenoch-branded apple?

The four contenders vying for the Tory leadership are going all out to win the merchandise war at this conference.

Team Tugendhat seem to have had a particularly fruitful brainstorming session.

They are handing out cans of spray on fake tan, entitled – wait for it – Tugend-Tan. “Glow up your conference”, it says.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Novelty flasks and coffee cups are also popular on the contenders’ stands.

One of Tugendhat’s efforts bears the slightly sinister legend “Sir Keir’s tears when Tom is elected leader”, while James Cleverly goes for “Caffeinate with Cleverly” and flasks saying “no leaks here”.

Robert Jenrick’s stand appeared a bit less frivolous when we swung by. Maybe they are still waiting for delivery of the foam fingers.

Is the UK’s maternity pay lower than other developed countries?published at 12:33 British Summer Time 30 September

12:33 BST 30 September

By Tamara Kovacevic

Following Kemi Badenoch’s maternity pay comments, fellow Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick told a Conservative Party fringe event: “Our maternity pay is among the lowest in the OECD”.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD), an international organisation with 38 member countries, the UK’s average statutory pay across paid maternity leave is around 30% of national average earnings, external.

This is lower than all other OECD countries, apart from Ireland and the US, which offers no paid leave on a national basis.

However, the UK offers the payment for 39 weeks – longer than all other OECD countries apart from Bulgaria and Greece.

Kate Whannel
Political reporter

Image source, IPPR

Michael Gove, a senior member of the previous Conservative government, has just finished speaking at a fringe event.

The former minister said he wouldn't be endorsing a candidate in the leadership election, adding that his backing would be “a blight on their prospects”.

He also ruled out running for Mayor of London, despite some pleas from the audience. He said the Conservatives need to run someone who is “much younger, much more effective, much better looking than me”.

Asked why his party lost the general election, he said that, having served in government for most of the Conservatives’ time in office, he is “one of the guiltiest” and admitted to his “fair share of mistakes and errors”.

He goes on to attribute his party’s defeat to a “loss of economic credibility” following Liz Truss’ premiership. He also said parties can only “stretch the electoral elastic so far” before the public become tired of them.

On the austerity policies of the coalition government, he said local governments took an “unfair, disproportionate burden of balancing the budget”. He added that the approach was the right decision for the economy “overall” but that local councils "suffered as a result".

Earlier we reported on Jeremy Hunt's warning the Conservative Party must avoid falling into a trap of thinking voters who turned their backs on them at the last election will automatically return once they become “fed up” with Labour.

The shadow chancellor also said his colleagues need to focus on earning voters' trust back. Watch his comments below: