City AM

Boris Johnson's mum, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, says she was "partly thrilled" by Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader, but she suggested he should "do away with his beard". It makes him look "a bit like an old wizard", she said.

City AM

Image source, Getty Images

Away from the Labour conference, Jeremy Corbyn may have an unlikely supporter. London mayor Boris Johnson's mum, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, has said she has “never voted Tory in my life", external. In an interview with Radio Times, due out this week, she said she thought it was "extraordinary” that she had raised four Conservative children (Boris, MP for Uxbridge; Orpington MP Jo; journalist Rachel, and sustainability expert Leo).

She notes that her three sons had all married left-wing women, saying: “Women like their mother, I suppose.”

Lisa Nandy attacks the "big six" energy companies. She says families and businesses are "ripped off because of energy decisions beyond their control".

Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy begins her address to conference by paying tribute to her predecessor in the role, Caroline Flint, who ruled out a shadow cabinet position under Jeremy Corbyn.

Setting out her priorities, Ms Nandy tells the room: "The guiding principle of our energy plan is the pursuit of social justice." She goes on to criticise the government's energy policy, accusing ministers of putting the security of household budgets, and the economy, at risk.

For those that haven't seen the picture in question, here it is:

Image source, PA

Diana Holland of Labour's National Executive Committee opens the debate on transport. She says the NEC is opposed to any attempt "to break up or privatise Network Rail". Rail executive Nicola Shaw, who has been asked by the government to come up with a plan to revive Network Rail's fortunes has said she cannot rule out recommending privatisation.

The rise of Jeremy Corbyn is "not an expression of how bad things have become but how comfortable they are", writes Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times., external

Ganesh adds:

He concludes: "Mr Corbyn is not a strike against capitalism. By inuring people to prosperity, freeing them to make loftier demands, capitalism is exactly what keeps him in business.

Business is underway in the conference hall in Brighton. Stella Creasy, who ran for the deputy leadership of the party - an election won by Tom Watson - is making a speech on behalf of the Co-operative Party. The party was founded in 1917 and has had an electoral agreement with Labour since 1927. Ms Creasy is one of 24 Labour Co-operative MPs.

Victoria Derbyshire

Jeremy Corbyn still has to convince some of his own party that he is prime minister material - but his future, and that of the country, will be decided by voters in towns and cities across the UK.

Ahead of his first conference speech as Labour leader, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been gauging public opinion in Derby, one of the tightest marginal seats in the country.

BBC News Channel

BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith says JC may not like the razzmatazz and messianic leader’s speech but this is a hugely important moment, as for many people it may be the first time they get to have a proper look at the new Labour leader. “Today matters,” he says.

Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell adds that this is Mr Corbyn’s opportunity to communicate with voters. She says he wants to show his values and those of the Labour party - such as decency, fairness and opportunity for all -are their values and people have “nothing to fear” from him.

Let's look away from the Labour conference for a moment, and cast an eye over some of today's other political stories.

Four high-profile UK jihadists fighting or recruiting for Islamic State militants in Syria are to be subjected to UN sanctions - at the UK's request. The UN's updated sanctions list, external named the four as Omar Hussain from High Wycombe, Nasser Muthana from Cardiff, Aqsa Mahmood from Glasgow and Sally-Anne Jones from Chatham in Kent. They will face a travel ban and a freeze of their assets. The move is a new tactic to stem the flow of recruits to the IS group.

More here.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Looking ahead to Jeremy Corbyn's conference address, Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff says it’ll be a “don’t frighten the horses" speech. She thinks it will be quite difficult for the new Labour leader as he’s not done anything like this before and it may not go that smoothly. “But I don’t think it matters,” she adds.

However Steve Richards, political columnist for The Independent, contends that it does. He says Mr Corbyn’s strength is a “distinctive, almost amateurish” authenticity but a speech needs to be "well-framed to convey that". Speech-making is an art form, he adds.

Jeremy Corbyn has consulted members of his shadow cabinet on the contents of his speech, according to shadow education secretary Lucy Powell. She told ITV1's Good Morning Britain that the new leader's style was "very open, very democratic, listening to people and taking their advice" and that he had spoken with her about sections of the speech which covered education. She added:

Image source, Anna Gowthorpe

One of the big stories from yesterday was the announcement that SSI is to mothball iron and steelmaking at its Redcar site for up to five years, with the loss of 1,700 jobs. The story is unsurprisingly continuing to make the news today.

Union officials are to begin talks with SSI executives which will focus on the mothballing process, whereby about 450 people will continue to work at the Teesside plant.

Here's our full story.

BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith has been up bright and early in Brighton this morning, for the Labour conference. Here's his thoughts on the today's keynote speech from Jeremy Corbyn.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg recalls the first public hustings of the Labour leadership contest and says that no-one in the establishment or the press believed that several months on, Jeremy Corbyn would be taking to the stage as leader, having secured such a big mandate. "It is an extraordinary political achievement," she says.

That said, she adds, there is huge pressure on the new Labour leader, who has to please three audiences: his supporters, his MPs (most of whom didn't back him) and the public. These speeches are very rare opportunities for leader of the opposition to have a window to the public, Laura says.