Paul Seddon
Reporting from Birmingham

Clive Underdown, a Tory member from Ipswich, says there was "nothing new" in the chancellor's speech.

He says Kwasi Kwarteng has "the right agenda" in wanting to lower taxes - but last week's mini-budget was "ineptly handled" and the government failed to properly prepare the City for it.

He says he backs the principle of lowering the top tax rate, adding it sends a signal that Britain is "open to business".

But he says that with people's living costs going up at the moment, this is "not the time for that sort of change".

Applause flat rather than rapturouspublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 3 October 2022

17:18 BST 3 October 2022

Ione Wells
Reporting from Birmingham

It was a speech with some notable omissions.

The line that "we must stay the course", which was briefed to the media yesterday, was one.

The chancellor did get some applause - particularly after his lines about cutting taxes, wanting to let people keep more of what they earn, and wanting to grow the economy and do things differently.

The mood was a little muted in the room, with the applause at times feeling flat rather than rapturous.

He got some laughs for acknowledging some of the disruption his tax-cutting plans had caused, and will be pleased with having the space to talk about his growth plans instead, but the problem is the story of the day was set late last night - and was still largely what the crowds pouring out of the room were talking about.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from Birmingham

A Conservative Party member, who didn’t want to be named, told me they stopped watching Kwarteng’s speech half way through.

They say they didn’t like the mini-budget and that the U-turn was a “a bit embarrassing”.

“Boris Johnson, as much as I didn’t like him personally, was very good at making people feel good about being Conservative - Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng don’t have that skill.

“I was at the Wales reception last night and thought it was very telling that the Welsh Conservative leader got a bigger cheer than the prime minister.”

The Liberal Democrats have said that the Chancellor's speech will bring "cold comfort" to struggling households and called on him to resign.

Sarah Olney, the party’s treasury spokesperson, said: "Laughing about the turbulence caused by this botched budget is an insult to the millions of people already facing spiralling mortgage costs."

"Kwasi Kwarteng's fiscal failure saw the economy tank and mortgage rates go through the roof - his words will bring cold comfort to struggling families and pensioners. This should be his first and last conference speech as chancellor. If he had any integrity left Kwarteng would hand in his notice and apologise to the British people for the damage he has caused."

Image source, Getty Images

Reacting to the chancellor's speech, Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says that although she welcomes the U-turn over plans to cut the top rate of income tax, the "damage" of announcing the tax cuts in the government's so-called mini-budget "has already been done".

When the chancellor delivered his financial statement, she tells the BBC, there was "huge volatility in financial markets and a huge spike in borrowing costs".

And she says that these were "not just for the government but also for ordinary families".

She says "the crisis was made in Downing Street" and "it's ordinary people paying the price" for it.

Asked how Labour would fund its proposal of expanding the medical workforce and breakfast clubs for all primary schools, Reeves says Labour would abolish the non-dom tax status - which would bring in an extra £3.2bn a year, she says, citing research from Warwick University.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from Birmingham

Jim Murray, a Conservative member from Liverpool, is full of praise for Kwarteng’s speech.

“He talks low but he talks firmly and has thought out every word," he says.

"He knows exactly what he wants to do, he has the power, so watch this space.”

The chancellor has been speaking at the Conservative Party conference hours after announcing a major U-turn on plans to abandon the top rate of income tax.

These were his main points:

Economic growth: Kwarteng defended the tax cuts in his mini-budget, repeatedly arguing they would increase growth - and in turn deliver higher wages and money to fund public services. Good schools and infrastructure were impossible without a strong economy, he said. He also restated his aim to achieve 2.5% annual growth.

Turbulence: In a reference to the 45p tax rate U-turn, the chancellor admitted his mini-budget had "caused a little turbulence". "What a day, it has been tough but we need to focus on the job in hand," he said at the start of his speech. "We are listening and we have listened," he said. Kwarteng added he would now focus on delivering the rest of the package - and stressed that average earners would benefit from the tax cuts.

Fiscal plan: The chancellor announced he would soon publish a "medium-term fiscal plan" to show how he intends to get debt falling. He also said a "full economic and fiscal forecast" from the Office for Budget Responsibility was on its way.

While most of the Conservatives in the front rows got to their feet to applaud Kwarteng's speech, the standing ovation was not universal at the back of the auditorium, as this photo from our reporter Paul Seddon shows.

Immediately after his speech, Kwarteng was met with a 'thumbs up' from fellow cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi as the audience clapped and cheered.

The Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng comes to the end of his speech, hailing his Conservative Party's achievements.

He goes on to take a jab at the Labour Party, stating that after three successive election defeats, "they still haven't learnt their lesson".

"The Labour Party believe they know how to spend your money better than you do," he says. "They believe they can tax their way to growth."

"We don't believe that," he says. "We believe in low tax, high growth and fiscal discipline," he states. "We are Conservatives."

He closes the speech with: "We as Conservatives believe in Britain. We love this country.

"Our patriotism goes to the core of what it is to be a Conservative. Yes we have challenges to face, but our plan will take this country forward, we will get Britain moving, we will grow our economy," he says.

"With grit, drive and with determination, we can meet the challenges of this new era," he adds.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from Birmingham

Image source, PA Media

You may remember that a few years ago then-Prime Minister Theresa May - facing a difficult party conference - had some problems with the letters falling off during her speech.

The Conservatives aren’t taking any chances this time with the slogan spelt out on a digital screen.

The chancellor says he is "unashamedly a pro-business conservative".

He says the interests of business and hard-working families are aligned, that they create more jobs, raise wages and contribute to our public services.

"Rather than bashing business, we are backing it," he says.

That is why the tax system needs to be made simpler, more competitive and pro-growth, he adds.

He says this is why the government plans to reverse the rise in corporation tax, the reforms to IR35 and maintain the £1m investment allowance.

Paul Seddon
Reporting from Birmingham

Kwarteng's first mention of the slogan that has been plastered all over the conference venue, Get Britain Moving, was greeted with applause.

But there were even bigger cheers - and the first whoops of the speech from activists - as he confirmed the government’s pledge to review or replace laws inherited from the EU.

Turning to strike action, Kwasi Kwarteng says he'll ensure future action doesn't harm the economy.

He calls strike action "pernicious", insisting parties in power have to be committed to tackling it.

Such action harms economic growth, he goes on, adding that any party "not serious about growth can't be considered fit for office".

Image source, Reuters

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng says the government will "review, replace and repeal EU laws holding our country back". It is met with applause.

"Too often," he says, "regulation holds us and Britain back".

He says "stifling red tape" puts up "too many barriers for enterprises looking to scale up", there are "too many rules for small business owners looking to take on apprentices," and there are "too many burdens for the finance sector" looking to invest.

To grow the economy, we really do need to do things differently, Kwarteng tells the conference hall.

He says it is towns and cities that drive much of our economic growth.

He recalls his time as business secretary and says he visited every corner of the country and saw the creativity, the drive and the entrepreneurial spirit, but he also saw where governments got in the way of progress.

To grow the economy, we need to do things differently, Kwarteng tells the Tory party conference.

"Because we are Conservatives, we are committed to being serious custodians of the public purse," he goes on.

He also says he's asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to publish a full economic forecast.

Image source, Reuters

The chancellor says the government was right to intervene to protect lives when Covid reached the UK.

He says the UK went into the Covid crisis in a much better position because of the action the Conservatives had taken over the last decade.

He says the UK now has the second lowest debt to GDP ratio in the G7 because of successive Conservative governments.

He says the government has taken the appropriate action to protect people from rising energy costs and the need to grow the economy.

"We will have a strong fiscal anchor with debt falling as a percentage of proportion of GDP over the medium term. That is the Conservative way," he says.

Ione Wells
Reporting from Birmingham

Kwasi Kwarteng is directly taking on criticism that his tax cuts will benefit higher earners more.

He says, “everybody benefits. I mean everybody”, arguing that if tax cuts lead to growing the economy that would help boost people’s wages, businesses and local areas, and raise more revenue long-term to fund public services.

The biggest clap he’s received so far is for saying: “People should keep more of what they earn.”

Kwasi Kwarteng says there's "an immediate challenge" facing not just the UK, but the whole of Europe; "the high cost of energy driven by [Vladimir] Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine".

He asks the conference to look back a few weeks, saying British people faced energy bills skyrocketing by the middle of next year.

Thanks to UK PM Liz Truss, he says, this is no longer the case. He says she took action and introduced the cap of £2,500 for annual energy bills "just two days after taking office".

"This government will always be on the side of those who need help the most," he says, before repeating a phrase he's said before: help is on the way to businesses.

He gets applause for that.