Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

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Party conferences are carnivals for the politically obsessed. Those of us whose jobs or passions lead us to follow every twist and turn of politics don't need persuading of their importance.

But the conferences do matter, I promise, for several reasons.

Conferences give the party leaders a huge platform to show who they are and what they are about.

The pressure is always on for them to inspire, rather than disappoint.

So these events are crucial, and that's why for the next few weeks we'll be talking to the party leaders on our show - starting this week in Liverpool with Labour's Sir Keir Starmer.

What we'll hear at conference this week will, as ever, be carefully designed and carefully choreographed.

The task according to one Labour insider is to show the party is "normal". They want voters to think "ooh that sounds like a good idea" when they hear Labour politicians.

But is "normal" enough? There will be promises of radical ideas but Sir Keir's challenge is to present a clear plan that can soothe public nerves and get the economy growing.

• Starmer's task is to soothe nerves and grow the economy

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Our economics editor Faisal Islam has been picking apart Kwarteng's statement to the Commons.

Calling it "the biggest tax cutting moment for half a century", Islam says that while it will go some way to "soothe some of the recession we are already likely in", the huge amount of borrowing needed to fund the chancellor's plans "has sent markets reeling".

This is because they were unconvinced by the Treasury's explanation that cutting taxes will grow the economy, which will lead to higher tax revenues, which will boost the government’s coffers without having to borrow in the long-run, Islam says.

There are risks to the plan - and it should help growth upfront - but there are “many gaps to fill” such as boosting worker numbers and improving productivity.

Plus there are echoes of the infamous 1972 "dash for growth" Budget by Conservative Chancellor Anthony Barber which led to a boom followed by bust - and the Tories losing the 1974 general election.

• Read more from Faisal here

We'll hear from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg after 9, but immediately following Kwarteng’s speech in the Commons on Friday, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves criticised the government's approach of targeting tax cuts to boost the economy. She accused the government of following the "out-dated ideology" that "if we reward those who are already wealthy, the whole of society will benefit".

Reeves went on to quote US President Joe Biden - who earlier in the week tweeted that he was "sick and tired of trickle-down economics". He is right, she said, adding: "It is discredited, it is inadequate, and it will not release the wave of investment that we need."

Trickle-down economics is the belief that if businesses, banks, and high earners feel better off they will invest, loan and spend more which benefits the whole country.

But Reeves gave this short-shrift in the Commons, calling it "a plan to reward the already wealthy".

However, Kwarteng responded by saying that "you cannot tax your way to prosperity".

Officially it was a "fiscal event" but was effectively a mini-budget. The chancellor confirmed that the basic rate of income tax would be cut to 19% next April, and the top rate of 45% on earnings over £150,000 will be scrapped.

Kwarteng said his plans were aimed at driving growth, and that he wanted to see the economy expand by 2.5% a year.

Kwarteng also:

• Scrapped next year's planned rise in corporation tax - a levy on company profits - which had been due to go up to 25%. It will instead stay at 19%
• Confirmed that the 1.25p increase in national insurance - which was levied to fund the NHS and social care - will be reversed from 6 November. Funding for the health service will be maintained
• Cut stamp duty - a tax on property transactions - by raising the thresholds for when it has to be paid. So now no stamp duty will be paid on the first £250,000 of the price of a house - while first-time buyers will not pay it on the first £425,000
• Froze alcohol duties and maintained help for smaller breweries
• Abolished the cap on bankers' bonuses, saying this would boost the financial sector
• Introduced VAT-free shopping for tourists
• Announced that the cap on energy prices will cost £60bn for the first six months

You can read our mini-budget at a glance guide here and find out what the mini-budget means for you.

Rob Corp
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

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There's a good flavour of the political battles to come in this morning’s papers with Conservative plans for more tax cuts and Labour’s pledges on the environment making the front pages.

The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Express and Sunday Times all lead with the Tories economic plans.

The Telegraph says Prime Minister Liz Truss is considering another round of tax cuts in the new year - as well as an overhaul of measures which the government says discourage people from earning more.

The Express leads on Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng telling the paper the tax cuts he announced on Friday are "just the start".

And the Sunday Times reports that Ms Truss faces her first cabinet row over plans to increase immigration to boost economic growth.

The Observer leads with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's "green growth plan" aimed at turning the UK into a green "superpower" before 2030 by increasing the amount of energy generated from renewable sources.

You can see what else is making Sunday’s papers in our full review.

Image source, PA Media

The Labour leader is in Liverpool for his second in-person conference.

With Labour consistently leading in the opinion polls in recent months, against a backdrop of the Conservatives' problems with Partygate, some hold a view that this is the week for him to really spell out what he wants to do for the UK.

Certainly, according to BBC political correspondent Iain Watson, the party goes into this week's gathering more united than in previous years, when leader Sir Keir Starmer pushed through changes to Labour’s internal workings.

In Liverpool the expectation is there will be a focus on whether working people feel the benefits of economic growth - with a contrast made between the Tories tax cuts and Labour’s preference for windfall taxes on energy firms.

So is this conference going to be more about the country than the party? We’ll hear more from the Labour leader after 09:00.

Rob Corp
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, PA Media/Getty Images

Listening and reacting to what our guests say this week is Richard Walker, who is managing director of the Iceland frozen food chain. Walker was promoted to MD of the chain in 2018 which his father (and the firm's chairman) Sir Malcolm founded in 1970. He's known for his interest in environmental issues, having committed Iceland to phase out single-use plastics, and is chairman of pressure group Surfers against Sewage.

Frances O'Grady has been part of the trade union movement all her life and has been general secretary of the Trades Union Congress since 2013 – the first woman to have held the post. She's been credited with helping inform the government's furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic - along with bosses' group the CBI. Earlier this year O'Grady announced she would stand down as general secretary.

Gerard Lyons is an international economist, fellow of the right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange and worked with Boris Johnson when he was London mayor. He found the group Economists for Brexit which argued the economic case for the UK leaving the EU. He is currently an external adviser to Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Image source, PA/Reuters

Welcome to our live coverage of this week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Today's programme comes from Liverpool, where the Labour Party is holding its annual conference. It comes in a week where the UK government has been setting out its plans to tackle rising energy costs and grow the economy.

The challenge for Labour this week is to say how they would approach the need to support homes and firms through the winter and get the UK economy growing differently. The party has already said it favours a new windfall tax on energy firms to pay for it - but will we hear more?

We'll get some idea of where Labour stands on that and other issues as the party’s leader Sir Keir Starmer will be talking to Laura Kuenssberg after 09:00.

This week's show has plenty to get its teeth into following Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget last Friday in which he cut income and corporation tax. We'll put those plans under the microscope when the chancellor appears on the show this morning.

And to get a considered on view on those announcements - and how Labour responds - our panel today features the managing director of Iceland supermarkets, Richard Walker, general secretary of the TUC Frances O'Grady and economist Gerard Lyons, who is an adviser to Prime Minister Liz Truss.