Taking conference through the government's record, Matt Hancock says inequality and youth unemployment are falling, and apprenticeships have doubled. All of this has been done "within the shackles" of coalition, he adds. The minister also says the government has reduced the amount of red tape because "we back business".

tweets:, external Just been to thriving Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull. The future of the economy is at the core of the choice facing Britain

Now for a speech from Matt Hancock, a minister in both the business and energy departments. Addressing delegates, Mr Hancock says he is "passionate" about standing up for enterprise. In a message to the country's entrepreneurs, he adds: "We are on your side". Ed Miliband's Labour Party, however, is "a truly anti-business party" that threatens the UK recovery and prosperity, he says.

Yvonne Glendenning: George Osborne has been very clever with pension plan reforms which have been very well thought out. The Conservative party must win the next general election as it would be a total disaster if Labour won.

Walter, Belfast: Under a Conservative government my tax has risen by £8 per month. They are even taxing my state pension and I am an 82 yr old pensioner.

The hall is looking pretty full as day two of the Conservative Party conference gets under way, beginning with a short speech from National Conservative Convention chairman Emma Pidding. She tells conference the country "cannot afford" another Labour government, and says the Conservatives must stick by their long-term economic plan "to secure a brighter and better future for Britain, and future generations".

tweets:, external Things You See At Tory Conference That You Don't See At Labour #1: Harvey Nichols wine tasting masterclass. See photo, external

Former Tory MP Mark Reckless, who announced his defection to UKIP on the eve of Conservative Party conference, has conceded he may lose the ensuing by-election and become "a footnote in history". In an interview with BBC Radio Kent, the ex-Rochester and Strood MP says he thinks he has a "fighting chance" but admits he is "running an enormous personal risk". He also defends his decision to keep his planned move under wraps, following an onslaught of criticism from his former colleagues.

Image source, Getty Images

Brian Wheeler, political reporter

White Dee - or Deirdre Kelly to use her proper name - is singing from George Osborne's hymn sheet here. She is urging the government to "concentrate more on the kids" to "stop them going into the system and getting stuck there for years and years". More apprenticeships are the answer, she tells the Policy Exchange fringe meeting. Oh, hang on. She says the situation for jobseekers has got "much worse" under this government. There is too much sanctioning and not enough appropriate training.

tweets:, external White Dee hits out at jobs offered to benefit claimants: 'Not everyone wants to work in an office or build a wall.' See photo, external

BBC News website reader: A benefit for after you're dead. Outstanding

Anthony Barry, Darwen, Lancashire: This is great news, an election ploy indeed but at least it will keep my financial advisor happy when I say to him I want to draw down another £50,000 into my pot to spend as and when I like without the fear or me dying and then the government takes 55% tax of what is left.

Peter Carder: The pension tax cut announced today is a typical Tory policy giving more to their rich Tory friends. Most working class people can barely afford a pension today after the Tory cuts.

Brian Wheeler, political reporter

She's here. White Dee, real name Deirdre Kelly, is speaking at a fringe meeting.

Brian Wheeler, political reporter

Standing room only at a morning fringe meeting. Is the PM making an unscheduled appearance? Obama? Boris? Nope, the crowds and cameras are here for White Dee from Channel 4's Benefits Street.

Steve Monckton in Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan: Further positive news by George Osborne to promote people saving adequately for their retirement. So long as all forms of tax relief are kept intact most middle-aged clients should look to pensions savings as their first port of call, followed by NISA's. I can see significantly more people paying up to their Annual Allowance each year than previously.

In other news, David Cameron has told the BBC that a future Conservative government would cap benefits further to fund three million apprenticeships. The party would cut the maximum benefits a household can claim a year from £26,000 to £23,000 to pay for the move - which is designed to "abolish" youth unemployment. Unemployed 18 to 21-year olds would be given six months to find work or training.

BBC News website reader: Tories giving to their own with the pension tax cut. Not many people who work for a living on the minimum wage have that kind of money.

tweets:, external Osborne's 'caesar' cut looking a bit bathing cap today. In danger of morphing into David Miliband

Brian Wheeler, politics reporter

A withering put down for the UKIP defectors from veteran Maastricht rebel Bernard Jenkin at a fringe meeting last night. What distinguishes "reckless Reckless" and "kamikaze Carswell" from the original gang of Tory Eurosceptic rebels, he said, is their youthful impetuousness. "These are people who I think have arrived only quite recently into this debate. They are impatient with those of who have been making these arguments much longer than them. They think they know much better than us and they've kicked the table over and decided to go and join UKIP, with only one effect that they would be helping Ed Miliband into Number 10."