Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer gives his first speech to a full conference
He says Labour under his leadership will not have an election manifesto "that is not a serious plan for government"
There are heckles from the audience, to which he responds with "shouting slogans, or changing lives?"
Sir Keir says rape and serious sexual assault cases will be fast-tracked under a Labour government
And he pledges mental health spending would not be allowed to fall
He focuses on education, calling for digital skills in schools and reinstating compulsory work experience
He criticises Boris Johnson as "a trivial man, a showman with nothing left to show"
The speech also focuses on science and research, with target investment of 3% of GDP
He adds: "Without a strong economy we cannot pay for the good society"
He finishes outlining his priorities: work, care, equality and security
After entering to the sound of Fatboy Slim's 'Right Here, Right Now', Sir Keir begins his speech by telling members how nice it is for him to finally speak to them in person.
He says he has had to wait 17 months, 5 days and two hours for this moment.
The Labour leader has got to the stage and is beginning his speech.
He thanks Doreen Lawrence for her introduction and "everything" she has done for criminal justice.
He pays tribute to the shadow cabinet.
And pointing to ex-MP Louise Ellman who quit the party over its handling of anti-Semitism he says: "Welcome home".
Stick with us for all the updates.
Iain Watson
Political correspondent
Whether by accident or design, there have been plenty of distractions from the main message at Brighton.
A row over internal rules, a shadow cabinet resignation, a union tearing up its collective membership card.
His aides have tried to turn adversity to advantage.
They say this demonstrates that Sir Keir is willing to change his party.
The more the left complain, the easier is to argue that he has moved the party on from the Jeremy Corbyn era.
Yet he hasn’t displayed the passion of Neil Kinnock in taking on Militant, or Tony Blair in dropping ‘clause 4’ – the commitment to nationalisation.
In fact when he dropped the 2019 manifesto pledge to take the energy companies in to public ownership, It was almost as an aside on the Andrew Marr programme with little context, or explanation.
So even those who are willing to be convinced by him worry that he won’t quite deliver.
The new head of the GMB union, Gary Smith, helped Keir Starmer deliver his party reforms at the weekend.
He told the BBC that too much of this week has been "insipid".
He wants to "firm commitments" not "vague promises".
So Sir Keir will face as much, if not more, pressure from potential allies as from his increasingly vocal opponents.
Anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence comes on the stage to introduce the Labour leader.
When he was director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer brought prosecutions against two men accused of murdering her 18-year-old son Stephen.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty in early 2012.
Baroness Lawrence says she met Sir Keir 15 years ago when he was "known for being on the side of ordinary people".
"And even back then he had good hair," she adds.
"I've met a lot of people who talk a lot, but Keir is someone who listens and acts."
The BBC's Chris Mason has been talking to Labour activists about their thoughts on the conference
Laura says wranglings over internal democracy have been a "distraction from what matters" such as cuts to universal credit.
Steve from the Fire Brigades Union says he feels "lukewarm" about Sir Keir Starmer and worries he is not standing up for workers.
But Kieran says he has noticed in the conference hall a "new direction starting to emerge"
"It is about viability now, about outreach and trying to be a bit more universal."
Image source, Getty ImagesConferences have their own set of traditions - and Sir Keir continued one earlier this morning by taking a walk with his wife Victoria on the Brighton seafront.
As far as we can tell, he avoided the mishap of his predecessor Neil Kinnock, who took a tumble in front of the cameras in 1983 whilst he took a stroll with his wife Glenys.
Former leader Jeremy Corbyn singing the Red Flag at the 2018 conference
The Labour leader's speech traditionally closes the conference, followed closely by a rendition of the Red Flag - sung to the tune of the German Christmas carol - Oh, Christmas Tree.
It includes the lyrics: "The people's flag is deepest red, it shrouded oft our martyred dead".
Keir Starmer is not expected to sing the song, with the recital expected to begin after the Labour leader has left the stage.
Shirley Waterhouse and Lynn Moore wants positive vibes from Starmer
Back to the conference floor and Leicester Councillor Lynn Moore says she wants some recognition for the hard work her and her colleagues do during Starmer's speech.
"We are the public face of the Labour Party," she tells us. "We meet people week in and week out, whatever their persuasion, and represent him.
"I'd like him to recognise that - and after I'd like him to come canvass with me. It might help him get out there and win people over!"
Shirley Waterhouse also wants him to recognise the strength of feeling about issues brought up at conference.
"As members, we don't always agree, but when we make ourselves heard, he needs to listen," she says.
"We have got to be positive and unite around the issues that really mean something to members."
Delegates and Labour MPs have started taking their seats in the hall for the start of Sir Keir Starmer's speech at 12:00 BST.
Starmer has said he will deliver his "vision for a brighter, more prosperous Britain".
Do stay with us.
BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir's speech, his first in-person address to the party faithful since he became leader, is a "big deal for us".
Asked whether this year's conference is about "burying" Corbynism, she replies it's about "showing the country we've changed".
She adds that Starmer has been trying to improve the party's trust with voters, and change the party so it can "look outwards" to the public.
From our reporter in the conference hall
Jennifer Scott
BBC News
Liz and Callum want to see a vision from the new leader
I've been down in the halls asking members what they are hoping to hear when Starmer takes to the stage in less than an hour.
Liz Lowe and Callum Roper, both from Lincoln, said they want to see "a vision".
Callum told us: "The last leader had a vision - as well as his own problems - but we want to see a vision from Keir."
Liz also said she wants to hear more about his Green New Deal - a policy that promises more environmentally friendly jobs for the future.
"Especially with the COP26 climate change conference coming up, we need to hear more - and we aren't going to get that vision from Boris Johnson."
Iain Watson
Political correspondent
For Labour, this has to be the ‘cut-through’ conference.
With the opposition’s voice muffled during the pandemic, they now have to make sceptical voters sit up and take notice.
Keir Starmer has previously tried to ‘introduce’ himself to the public – talking about his family life on Desert Islands Discs, hinting that he partied hard as a student when opening up to Piers Morgan on his Life Stories programme.
Yet somehow to many voters whose attention has been elsewhere, he still feels distant and to some, even dull.
So the task today is to meld his own life story with those of voters – what does his mother’s long-term illness say about his attitude to the NHS?
What does his time as director of public prosecutions say about his likely policies on crime and policing?
What does his rounded education at a grammar school and the Guildhall say about his ambitions for children's education.
He says he wants to turn his party outwards, to talk to voters and not each other.
Today he will be judged on whether he is able to practice what he preaches.
Image source, Getty ImagesRumours reach us that this will be the last party conference in the Brighton Centre, which is due to be demolished, as part of a redevelopment of the seafront.
Although a little research reveals that this plan was first mooted nearly 20 years ago, "with a new centre to be built by 2008". So perhaps we have not seen the last of it yet...
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, PA MediaIt's been an eventful few days since the conference got under way on Saturday.
GMB General Secretary Gary Smith
Yesterday, the head of one of Britain's biggest trade unions, the GMB, said "too much" of what he had heard at Labour's conference had been "insipid".
GMB general secretary Gary Smith told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: "We don't want vague promises from Labour, we need firm commitments."
He praised Sir Keir as a "very committed and passionate leader" but added: "If Labour doesn't sound like it understands the issues around jobs, around wages, Labour will not reconnect with working class communities."
From our reporter in the conference hall
Jennifer Scott
Political reporter, BBC News
While the headline act of the day will be Starmer's speech, there is still some conference business to get through.
The last few members are having their moment at the lectern, including Labour's newest MP and sister of murdered MP Jo Cox, Kim Leadbeater.
You'd have thought the triumphant winner of the Batley and Spen by-election might have made an earlier appearance, but it turns out she had tested positive for Covid the week before conference.
She told the hall that her isolation period ended at midnight last night, so she rushed straight down to Brighton to make sure she could take part in her first event as an elected member.
What a way to make an entrance!
BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme
Keir Starmer's speech will be carried live and in full on BBC 2's Politics Live, which will run from 11:30 to 13:15 BST.From Brighton, Jo Coburn will be joined by shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner and the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush.
Sir Keir Starmer has said winning the next election is more important than party unity.
Rows with left-wingers angry over the direction he is taking the party have dominated Labour's annual conference.
But Sir Keir told the BBC Labour had to change to avoid losing a fifth general election in a row.
He said he came into politics "to go into government to change millions of lives", not "lose and then tweet about it".
In an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, the Labour leader called on "every single Labour Party member and supporter" to have the same focus on the ballot box as he did.
You can watch the interview in full below.
Labour conference interview: Keir Starmer with Laura Kuenssberg
Image source, ReutersSir Keir was photographed yesterday putting the finishing touches to his speech
We expect Sir Keir to speak for around an hour. He will deliver it, in the tried-and-tested manner, from behind a lectern with an autocue in front of him.
However, if the presentation is traditional, his aides are promising a new approach to the content, with “personal” speech more optimistic in tone than recent years.
We are also expecting some policy announcements. Overnight, he unveiled pledges to train thousands of teachers and cut waiting times for mental health services.
It will also be interesting to see how he approaches the issues that has dominated the political week, and attacks the government over the fuel shortages at petrol stations.
Image source, PA MediaThe leader's speech on the final day of the Labour party conference is a big moment for the party and Keir Starmer.
It's the first time he will deliver an address to the party faithful in person because of Covid restrictions since he took over in April last year.
He will want to set out his vision for the future of the party and the country, and move on from some of the infighting and procedural wrangles that have threatened to overshadow the five-day get-together in Brighton.
We’ll be bringing you all the build-up here ahead of the speech at midday.