We're pausing our live coverage for today, thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow with more live updates, when the Conservative conference enters its final day.

It's set to be another busy day in Birmingham, with PM Liz Truss giving her keynote speech after we hear from the likes of party chairman Jake Berry and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi.

Today's writers were Adam Durbin, Aoife Walsh, Charley Adams, Oliver Slow, Thomas Mackintosh, Ruchira Sharma, Malu Cursino and Sam Hancock.

The page was edited by Emma Owen, Alexandra Fouché and Andrew Humphrey.

You can read our latest news story here.

Image source, Getty Images

We're coming to the end of our live coverage of the third day of the Conservative Party conference, which is taking place in Birmingham. Here's what's happened:

Immigration

• Home Secretary Suella Braverman expanded on her plans for immigration and policing during the Tory conference. She defended her predecessor's Rwanda policy, adding that the UK government needs to "take back control"
• The home secretary said many of the Albanians arriving in the UK in small boats were falsely claiming to be trafficking victims. But yearly immigration figures from the Home Office show that over half of recent arrivals from Albania were granted asylum by the government
• "The unexamined drive towards multiculturalism as an end in itself, combined with the corrosive aspects of identity politics, has led us astray," Braverman claimed

Tax U-turn

• There's been some confusion surrounding the publication date of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's medium-term fiscal plan, where he will set out how he will cut the UK's debt

• It was originally due to be published on 23 November, but political journalists were briefed on Monday evening that this date was going to be brought forward
• Today, in an interview with GB News, external, Kwarteng appeared to quash these reports. Asked whether the date was changing, he said bluntly: "It's going to be the 23rd"

• Earlier on, Braverman accused fellow Tory MPs of staging a "coup" to force the government to drop its plans to get rid of the 45p tax rate on high earners

• In an interview with the BBC, Prime Minister Liz Truss restated her support for the idea of ditching the higher rate, while noting she is "not contemplating that now"

Benefits

• Truss faced facing growing unrest among Conservative MPs over her refusal to commit to increasing benefits in line with inflation - despite it being promised under Boris Johnson's government
• Conservative former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries was critical of the new prime minister's policies, and in an interview with LBC said that although she backed the new leader, it was not acceptable to ditch the policies from the previous premiership
• Truss has said she's committed to increase pensions at the pace of rising prices - known as the 'triple lock' - but on benefits has said the government "must be fiscally responsible"
• Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt was the most high profile Tory to break ranks and call for the increase to be introduced

The pound has risen to its highest level agaisnt the dollar for two weeks, to $1.14, on hopes Kwasi Kwarteng will bring forward details of how he will cut debt, and remained high despite confusion over when this would happen.

Still, mortgage rates continued to climb, with the UK's biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax expected to raise rates on Wednesday to well over 5% on a range of deals for new borrowers.

The average two-year fixed rate deal has now been pushed to 6%, but four days ago, the rate was 5.43% and at the start of December it was 2.34%.

These changes have been triggered by the mini-budget, which meant the pound slumped to a record low, government borrowing costs surged and the Bank of England was forced to step in and take emergency action after the dramatic market movements put some pension funds at risk of collapse.

That prompted mortgage providers to rapidly pull hundreds of deals from the market. This week, the availability of products has started to pick up again.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

This has not been an easy party conference for the government.

Some in Birmingham think it's been a disaster.

First, a colossal U-turn on the 45p tax rate, then being forced to bring forward the next step of the chancellor's economic growth plan under pressure from Tory MPs.

Now, there's another mutiny brewing over benefits - and how much they should go up by.

Boris Johnson's government promised that working-age benefits would go up in line with inflation.

His successor as PM, Liz Truss, has pledged that pensions will continue to be linked to inflation but has pointedly not made the same commitment when it comes to welfare payments like universal credit.

Rebellion hangs in the air here in Birmingham and it's likely to follow the prime minister back to Westminster.

You can read more here.

Much of the talk at the Tory conference was about whether the party would ditch a pledge made under Boris Johnson to increase benefits in line with inflation.

BBC Radio 5 Live heard from people directly affected by the plans.

Karen has fibromyalgia, which is a long-term condition that causes pain all over her body. She works two jobs and claims Universal Credit. She’s also been getting housing benefit and council tax benefit since she was in a car accident six years ago and had to give up her job.

“I never thought I’d be in this situation, I’m 65 in a couple of months, I thought firstly I’d be getting my pension by now.

“It’s this old stigma that anyone on benefits is trying to get every penny they can out of the government and sit down all day long, and it isn’t like that,” she says.

“It’s really hard to make wages now with the minimum wage at £9.50, it doesn’t come in anywhere near to the cost of living. It’s never going to cover what your outgoings are and so you’ll always need to be on benefits.”

She adds: “It can happen to anyone. So many people, especially since Covid, have had to go on benefits, they’ve never claimed in their lives. It’s not shameful, the only shameful part of it is that the government don’t get it sorted out.”

Speaking about Liz Truss, Karen says she should be looking at those at the “bottom of the ladder” and that “she’s not even considering us. We need the help now.”

Image source, PA Media

It's been a "tough" few days for Kwasi Kwarteng, as he put it in his conference speech yesterday. But the chancellor's busy schedule continues.

Talking this evening at a fringe event, PA reports that when asked how his new job was going, Kwarteng answered "very well" - before saying it's a "unique privilege" to work at the heart of the Treasury. He also said he was "very proud" of his controversial mini-budget.

Telling attendees "polls go up and down", Kwarteng is also said to have insisted that his party can win the next general election despite Labour's current lead.

On the main topic of the day, Kwarteng was less willing to share his thoughts, refusing to comment on whether the government will uprate benefits in line with inflation.

Conservative former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries has been critical of Prime Minister Liz Truss's policies, and in an interview with LBC says that although she backs the new leader, it is not acceptable to ditch the policies from the previous premiership.

Dorries says the key issues Tories are confronted with right now - like loss in support from the electorate in polls - come as a result of Boris Johnson's removal from office.

"I think what Liz [Truss] needs to do is stop right now and take stock of where she is, to learn from the mistakes of the past few weeks, to look at the manifesto that people elected us on," she says.

"Because for me removing Boris and removing the policies is a recipe for disaster."

She tells LBC she's not calling for a general election, and says she continues to support Truss, adding her sentiments are echoed by Johnson who she says she spoke to earlier today about this.

As we've been reporting, there's some uncertainty over the publication date of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's much-anticipated fiscal plan.

Attempting to get some clarity on the situation, the BBC's Evan Davis earlier asked a Cabinet Office minister what was going on.

After playing a clip of Kwarteng telling GB News , externalthat the date wouldn't be brought forward - and the plan would come out as planned on 23 November - Brendan Clarke-Smith claimed the chancellor had been "quite clear".

“He’s said he wants to bring this forward as soon as he possibly can," Clarke-Smith said on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, before adding Kwarteng hadn't given a "specific date".

Davis challenged this, saying Kwarteng had in fact given a specific date: 23 November - but Clarke-Smith responded by saying he "wouldn’t want to set the chancellor’s diary for him".

"What I would say is, I think people are going to welcome the clarification that he’s going to be giving on this... and I hope it arrives soon," the Tory MP went on.

We'll continue to keep you posted on this.

Taxing conference for Liz Trusspublished at 19:29 British Summer Time 4 October 2022

19:29 BST 4 October 2022

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

It’s been a taxing conference so far for Liz Truss, and that’s before she gives her big speech tomorrow.

She had promised during the contest to succeed Boris Johnson to deliver bold leadership. Yet today it seemed some members of her own party were willing to test that assertion almost to destruction.

Prominent MPs - such as the former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, a supporter of the Liz Truss leadership campaign - are openly trying to persuade her not to cut benefits in real terms.

And if proof were needed that winning a leadership campaign does not in itself bring unity, Penny Mordaunt - Liz Truss’s former rival for the top job who now sits around her Cabinet table - has also called for welfare payments to "keep pace" with inflation.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman was probably trying to be helpful to her friend, the prime minister. But she ended up fuelling the political fire around her.

She accused disloyal former Cabinet members of trying to stage a "coup" - and of undermining Liz Truss’s authority.

A press pack hungry for news after a relatively placid Labour conference are now feasting on divisions.

There's been some confusion surrounding the publication date of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's medium-term fiscal plan, where he will set out how he will cut the UK's debt. This is something that financial markets are very keen to see.

Here's what we know:

• The plan was originally due to be published on 23 November
• Political journalists were briefed on Monday evening that this date was going to be brought forward. It was thought this might be to coincide with independent analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the news sent the pound higher
• But today, in an interview with GB News, external, Kwarteng appeared to quash these reports. Asked whether the date was changing, he said bluntly: "It's going to be the 23rd."
• PM Liz Truss then repeated the same thing in a separate interview
• Despite these remarks, the BBC has been told the the government still plans to bring the date forward - to as soon as later this month
• The chancellor, we're told, wants to make the announcement to Parliament, which is why he didn't provide any information about the new date in interviews today

Reality Check

The home secretary said many of the Albanians arriving in the UK in small boats were falsely claiming to be trafficking victims.

Home Office figures, external show that in the first six months of this year, 18% of people arriving in small boats were from Albania (more than 2,100 people).

This is a substantial increase on the same period the year before, when there were just 23 arrivals from the country.

Yet yearly immigration figures also show that over half of recent arrivals from Albania were granted asylum by the government.

Albanians were also the most commonly referred nationality for trafficking support. In the first quarter of this year, Albanians accounted for 27% (1,008) of all potential victims.

The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority was set up by the government to investigate trafficking claims. It found that in the first half of this year, 97% of cases referred for human trafficking were genuine, according to a report , externalby a human rights charity.

Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has criticised Home Secretary Suella Braverman for her "inflammatory" comments about Tory MPs "staging a coup".

Earlier Ms Braverman said she was in favour of the 45p tax cut for higher earners and was "disappointed that members of our party staged a coup".

"I don't think we should be talking about coups", Badenoch said at a ConservativeHome event.

"I think that sort of language is just too inflammatory.

"People should be able to change their minds without the world coming to an end."

Reality Check

In her speech to the Conservative Party conference, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said “We have to stop the boats crossing the Channel”.

“This has gone on for far too long.”

More than 33,500 people have already crossed the English Channel to come to the UK so far this year - more than the number who crossed in the whole of last year.

In the first half of 2022, arrivals from Albania, Afghanistan and Iran made up more than half of the overall total.

Iraq, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan were the next most common countries of origin for arrivals across the Channel.

Read more on this here.

Image source, Reuters

Ending her speech Suella Braverman vowed to crackdown on people smugglers and criminals "peddling false promises".

The home secretary says the only way into the UK will be "a safe and legal route".

Those who enter illegally will be "swiftly" returned to their home country or relocated to Rwanda, she warns.

"The Labour Party will try to stop us," Braverman says.

"The Lib Dem will go bananas and The Guardian will have a meltdown. Don't get me started on the lawyers."

The home secretary says many of those crossing the Channel into Britain are coming from safe countries like Albania.

She says the UK government needs to make the Rwanda scheme work, and "take back control".

French patrols have said they're stopping around half of all crossing attempts, but more than 30,000 people have still made it to the UK so far this year.

Braverman says British laws need to be resilient against abuse. She referred to case studies of migrants who were allegedly convicted of crimes in their home countries, making their way to the UK and hinging their claims on modern slavery.

A senior French official recently told the BBC that dedicated Albanian smuggling networks are now operating across the Channel, separately from the main Kurdish and Iraqi networks.

The BBC's Reality Check will examine her claims on asylum seekers shortly.

Praising Britain as the "best place on Earth to come and live", Suella Braverman tells the Tory conference she's concerned people may have lost sight of the "core values and the culture that made it so".

"The unexamined drive towards multiculturalism as an end in itself, combined with the corrosive aspects of identity politics, has led us astray," she claims. This statement receives loud applause.

Talking about the recent unrest in Leicester - a place she describes as "a melting pot of cultures and a beacon of religious harmony" - Braverman says "such conflict has no place in the UK".

Rounding off this section of her speech, she talks about Prevent, saying the murderer of "our much-missed and dear friend" Tory MP Sir David Amess had been known and referred to the anti-terror group.

"As home secretary, I'll make sure Prevent is fit for purpose - the law abiding majority deserve nothing less," Braverman says, once again receiving cheers and applause.

It is not bigoted to talk about controlling migration, Suella Braverman says.

The home secretary points to her own family's migrant background, adding that she rejects some on the left who say it's hypocritical of someone from an ethnic minority to say these things.

"It is not bigoted to say we have too many asylum seekers who are abusing the system.

"It is not xenophobic to say mass and rapid immigration places pressure on housing, public services and community relations."

Braverman is now going on an offensive against the Labour Party.

She says the left are threatening fundamentally Conservative values, and wishing to replace those values "with identity politics".

Braverman says it is wrong for the police force to take the knee in protests, or take part in any politically motivated protests.

In 2020, many across the UK and worldwide - including professional footballers - took the knee in support of Black Lives Matter. The phrase is used to highlight racism, discrimination and inequality experienced by black people.

However, Braverman says it distracts public servants from doing their job, like policing and making arrests.

Suella Braverman now turns to the issue of protesting, referring to demonstrators as "the mob".

She says police must have all the powers they need to stop protesters "who use guerrilla tactics and bring chaos and misery to the law-abiding majority".

It's not a human right to vandalise property, the home secretary says. "No you can't just start a riot or glue yourself to the road and get away with it," she continues, getting louder and more frequent applause from delegates at the Tory party conference.

"Whether you're Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain or Extinction Rebellion... we'll keep putting you behind bars," she says to round off this section.

How will this be achieved? "Unapologetic" policing, she says.

Suella Braverman says a home secretary can never be complacent and tells the conference the government is "well on its way" to a target of 20,000 extra police officers by March 2023.

"The prime minister and I want to see homicides, serious violence and neighbourhood crime fall by 20%," Braverman says.

She says that many on the Left want to defund the police, but she "will always back our policemen and women".

Braverman also calls for forces to "get back to common sense policing," and tackle the issues important to the public rather than "policing pronouns on Twitter".

"That is why I am pleased Greater Manchester Police, Hampshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and the Met have now promised to visit the scene of every burglary."

The latest figures, up to 30 June 2022, show an extra 13,790 police officers have been recruited, external under the government's Police Uplift scheme. But that doesn't make up for police numbers falling by 20,545 between 2010 and 2019, external - under Conservative-led governments.

Image source, .