Image source, CONSERVATIVE PARTY

A minister has questioned how much longer working-age people can be asked to pay taxes for health and social care they may not benefit from.

Justice Minister Phillip Lee, a former GP, said the welfare state was a "Ponzi scheme" that was "about to collapse".

By the time working people reached the age where they had to rely on them, these services may no longer exist, he told a Tory conference fringe meeting.

He said a better funding model may be to tax assets rather than work.

The minister said Britain's economy and society were currently "set up for the over-65s and against the under-40s" and the Conservatives had to find a way to change that.

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European Parliament
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Ex-UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe, who now sits as an independent, says British voters are "no longer fooled" by the EU's insistence that it wants to negotiate a fair deal.

He says the EU "wants its cake, our cake, the morning croissant, afternoon tea and finishing it with taking a pound of Britain's economic flesh".

However Labour MEP Richard Corbett blames the lack of progress so far on the "chaos, confusion and divisions" within the UK government.

He adds that ministers are trying to pursue a "particular form of Brexit" not supported by the public.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The prime minister has rejected accusations of weak leadership in her cabinet, saying she is "in charge" over issues such as Brexit.

It comes after Boris Johnson set out his Brexit "red lines" at the weekend.

"I choose my cabinet and I want to ensure that I have a range of voices sitting around the table because I think you make better decisions that way," Theresa May told the Today programme.

"Of course the prime minister is in charge," she added.

The DUP's Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill spoke at The Champ Ulster Fry Breakfast in Manchester - a regular fringe event held at both the Labour and Conservative conferences.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

UKIP’s Nigel Farage has denounced the lack of trade talks between the UK and the EU and called for Theresa May to resign.

He declared he was saying publicly what Conservative MPs said privately: "She is a waste of space. She needs to go."

He added: "We need a proper PM that tells Barnier if we can't reach an agreement on trade we are reverting to WTO rules. This charade cannot go on."

He also denounced the European Commission’s attitude to Catalonia, saying he had heard "not a dicky bird" from Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker when "women are dragged by their hair out of polling stations".

"Thank God we are leaving," the former UKIP leader told MEPs.

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Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage begins by criticising the EU response to the disputed Catalan referendum over the weekend.

He tells MEPs that in his speech earlier, Jean-Claude Juncker had "not a dickie bird" to say about police violence, which he "never ever" thought he would see in an EU state.

He says that the Brexit vote was a "voice of national self-determination", but that the EU has treated the UK as "some kind of hostage" ever since.

He says the EU won't have an "intelligent conversation" about a trading relationship until all of its demands are met by the British negotiators.

The sight of Theresa May "begging" for a transitional deal in Florence was "pitiful", he adds.

Theresa May has brushed off questions about Boris Johnson's recent Brexit comments - saying she does not want to be surrounded by "yes" men.

The prime minister told BBC Breakfast "leadership is about ensuring you have a team... of different voices around the table so you can discuss matters".

Mrs May was speaking ahead of a day in which the foreign secretary is due to deliver his key conference speech.

It comes after Mr Johnson set out his Brexit "red lines" at the weekend.

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Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Guy Verhofstadt - the European Parliament’s key figure in Brexit negotiations - blames Conservative divisions for a lack of progress.

"There are differences between Hammond and Fox... and Johnson and May," he says.

Theresa May will promise to confront "uncomfortable truths" exposed by a review into the way people from ethnic minorities are treated in Britain.

The prime minister said the audit, due to be published next week, would "hold a mirror up to society".

Its findings include that white Britons are far more likely to have a job than black and ethnic minority people.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson are due to speak at the Tory conference.

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German Christian democrat MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the centre-right EPP group, calls for foreign secretary Boris Johnson to be sacked.

"We need a clear answer who is responsible for the British position," he says.

Theresa May should "put Britain first" instead of fighting "quarrels" in the Conservative party, he adds.

He says that "clear progress" will be required by 2019 in order to guarantee that the European Parliament ratifies the final deal.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Theresa May has a tendency not to want to "over-promise and under-deliver".

The PM thinks "that is one of the things that causes political resentment", Laura adds.

However, while Mrs May sounded passionate about getting things done in her Today programme interview, there are enough other voices around the conference that indicate "all is not well".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

"I'm very clear about the problems in society," Theresa May insists.

Her party needs to show voters that it can "resolve those problems - it won't happen overnight".

Finally, the prime minister is asked what her strengths are.

She returns to her earlier theme of "strong leadership" - including not having a team of "yes men" around her.

And, returning to a slogan she has employed since becoming PM last year, she says the Conservative conference is about "how we build a country that works for everyone".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Theresa May discusses her "racial disparity audit".

She says she was inspired by things she saw when she was home secretary - for example the unequal application of stop and search powers.

The prime minister says the audit "does make uncomfortable reading". Black and minority ethnic communities have lower chances of employment and the government plans "20 hot spots where extra help will be going in".

Are these not small solutions to big problems, she is asked. What about the example of Grenfell Tower?

As well as needing to find out what happened at Grenfell Tower, there is a wider problem, Mrs May responds.

"There are people in social housing who raise their voices, they make a complaint and their voices are not heard," she says.

Housing Minister Alok Sharma will be meeting social housing tenants to try to resolve these problems, the PM adds.

European Parliament
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On behalf of the Estonian EU presidency, Estonia's deputy minister for EU affairs Matti Maasikas says EU leaders will assess the state of talks later this month.

He notes that there is a "certain new momentum" to the talks but that more "clarity" is needed in certain areas.

He adds that transitional measures could provide welcome certainty to businesses, but that any transitional deal must be accompanied by "clear conditions".

European Parliament
Strasbourg

European Commission Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says that Theresa May's speech "gave us some openings", and negations have been able to "move forward" on the issue of citizens' rights.

However, he says there are "still serious divergences", especially on a financial settlement.

The remaining 27 EU states will "never accept" having to pay for a decision made by British voters, he adds - and accuses the UK of "certain discriminatory measures" against EU citizens.

"Sufficient progress" on the early withdrawal issues has not been achieved, he says, but pledges that the Commission will be "constructive" in fifth round talks beginning next week.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Prime Minister Theresa May says her proposal of a Brexit transition period of around two years is "practical".

She declines to confirm whether the period could last longer than two years but says it could be "less than two years in some areas".

The PM says the UK should not be seen as "some sort of supplicant, asking for things" from Brussels - it would be "a new partnership".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, gett

Theresa May is asked: wouldn't a strong leader sack Boris Johnson?

"Weak leadership is wanting to have a team around you that are only yes men," she replies.

"Strong leadership is wanting to have different voices."

This means you make better decisions, she argues.