Summary

  • In his speech, Chancellor George Osborne promised to freeze working-age benefits for two years

  • Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the government was getting more people on the housing ladder

  • Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith closed the day by saying welfare changes were making work pay

Live Reporting

Pippa Simm, Victoria Park and Justin Parkinson

  1. 'Utterly nuts'

    Boris Johnson has made his views known on Tory defections to rivals UKIP, saying anyone thinking about leaving to join the party "must be utterly nuts". It comes after two Conservative MPs - Douglas Carswell and, this weekend, Mark Reckless - left to join Nigel Farage's party. Mr Johnson, the Conservative London mayor and 2015 parliamentary candidate, suggested would-be switchers would help Ed Miliband's Labour Party into government. He also dismissed press reports of more defections in the offing as "fanciful", in a piece for the Daily Telegraph.

  2. Patrick Wintour, Political editor of the Guardian

    tweets: From those who heard Osborne practising his speech last night. It is all about the choice.

  3. Almost there

    Here's another chance to glimpse the chancellor as he makes his way through the conference centre.

    George OsborneReuters

  4. Wes Streeting, Labour councillor

    tweets: This is not a Chancellor governing in the national interest. The UKIP tail is wagging a subservient, supine Tory dog. @BBCr4today

  5. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer

    tweets: We should abolish long term youth unemployment. We'll spend less on benefits & more on helping young people get jobs

  6. Time for a cuppa

    George Osborne has done the rounds of TV and radio interviews ahead of his speech later.

    George OsborneReuters

  7. Conference agenda

    This morning's theme at conference is the economy. There will be speeches from Business, Innovation and Skills Minister Matt Hancock (10.35 BST) - who also has a portfolio in the energy department; Culture Media and Sport Secretary Sajid Javid (10.45 BST); Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Liz Truss (11.15 BST) and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin (11.30 BST).

  8. Newspaper sting

    Brooks Newmark resigned as minister for civil society after he allegedly sent explicit pictures of himself to an undercover Sunday Mirror journalist. A fellow Conservative MP, Mark Pritchard, is to make a formal complaint to the independent press regulator against the paper, saying "questionable techniques" were involved in its report. The Sunday Mirror said that the story was in the public interest.

  9. Shifting the focus

    The Conservatives are keen to shift the focus on to policies today, after the weekend's headlines were dominated by the defection of an MP to UKIP, and a ministerial resignation over a newspaper allegation.

  10. Good morning

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Monday at the Conservative Party conference. It's going to be a busy day. The highlight of today's agenda is a speech from Chancellor George Osborne, at about 11.50 BST. He is to set out plans to scrap the 55% tax rate on inherited pension funds; the changes will come in to effect from next April.