Image source, PA Media

We are pausing our coverage of the Tory party conference after another day dominated by rumours over the future of HS2.

We heard from several high profile figures both on and off the main stage, from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to former Prime Minister Liz Truss.

And there were several sizeable policy announcements.

Hunt ushered in both a freeze to the civil service expansion and a boost to the national living wage, while Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she would issue new guidance in England on banning the use of mobile phones during school time.

All was overshadowed by HS2, however, as West Midlands mayor Andy Street urged Rishi Sunak not to give up on the Manchester leg of the high speed rail line.

• You can read our full story on Street's remarks here
• Want to know what the planned HS2 route is and why the Manchester link is in doubt? Then this handy explainer is for you
• We also have a round-up on the main stories from the conference so far here

Today's coverage was brought to you by our team in London and our reporters at the conference in Manchester, thank you for joining us.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The chairman of the Conservative Party has defended the government's handling of the HS2 decision - saying ministers were still looking at the evidence.

Amid increasing speculation, Hands told the BBC: "We're looking at the value for money cases."

He insisted no decision had been made by the prime minister, despite a widespread assumption the leg to Manchester will be scrapped.

Hands was speaking immediately after the Tory mayor of West Midlands Andy Street urged ministers not to turn their back on the project.

He said Street was a "really important Conservative mayor" and ministers would "pay heed" to his views. He offered no insight on timing, saying only that it would come in the "proper time".

Let's bring you some more reaction on the uncertainty swirling around the future of HS2, this time from the Labour West Yorkshire mayor.

Tracy Brabin says it "now looks increasingly likely that our worst fears about HS2 will be confirmed", adding that the government "has left us hanging by a thread for weeks".

She says cancelling the northern leg of the rail project "would damage the fortunes of the region and the whole of the country for generations to come - wiping out investment and undermining our reputation across the world".

She adds:

Image source, Reuters

Away from HS2 for a moment, Lord Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, has characterised Liz Truss as the "circus that came to town" following her appearance at a conference fringe event today.

The address saw Truss - flanked by 'Make Britain Grow Again' banners - detail a plan for Britain: including cutting corporation tax and building more homes.

But, speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Lord Houchen says the public have "no interest" in what the ex-PM has to say - and that those who turned up to hear her speak today only came "because they like the circus".

He accuses Truss of appearing just to create "a stir and cause Rishi a headache", adding that there are "too may people like Liz Truss who want to stay relevant".

Lord Houchen concludes by encouraging "everyone to stop playing silly games and get behind the PM".

We've just heard a bit more from Andy Street, the Conservative mayor for the West Midlands. He says the government must not give up on HS2, but think "radically" about how the rail link between London and the north of England can be achieved.

Speaking outside the entrance to The Midland Hotel in Manchester, where the Tory party conference is taking place, Street says he recognises that Rishi Sunak has "inherited a difficult situation with HS2", but that it is "right to try and get a grip of the situation".

This does not mean "giving up", Street tells the journalists present - insisting the rail project is "just as right now as it was 10 years ago".

He adds:

Street says he has been in conversation with several private sector organisations "wanting to come forward to find new, innovative ways" of completing HS2, as he makes a personal plea to Sunak to "stay the course".

"There is a choice in front of [Sunak]: either cancel, as the rumours say... or work with us, engage with us, fully embrace private sector, hear out what they have to say".

There is a lot of speculation about the future of the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, none of which is helpful to industry stakeholders, according to the chief of the Railway Industry Association (RIA).

Darren Caplan is the chief executive of the RIA, which represents more than 350 rail suppliers, many of whom work on the HS2 scheme.

Speaking to the BBC from the Conservative Party conference, he was asked about his discussions with government ministers and advisors about the future of the project.

"There's a sense of total chaos around today when it comes to HS2 policymaking," he says, adding he's been speaking to government representatives, stakeholders and journalists but that "no-one seems to know what's going on".

"Some are saying it will definitely be scrapped and there will be an announcement during the week about scrapping HS2 phase two and replacing it with other schemes - [but] others say it's all speculation and nothing's going to happen."

Caplan adds: "A bit of certainty from the government wouldn't go amiss." He urges the PM not to scrap the scheme and appeals to Rishi Sunak to work with stakeholders to make the project more affordable.

We've been hearing from Andy Street, the Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, who has been asked about HS2 during another fringe event.

At first Street jokes to say it's taken 30 minutes for a HS2 question to come up, and then reiterates the latest he has from Downing Street is that a decision has not yet been taken on axing a leg of the high-speed line.

But adds that the private sector needs confidence in big projects in order to invest. Street uses an example for how long it took Birmingham to prepare to host last year's Commonwealth Games.

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

The chancellor has vowed to freeze civil service expansion, return staffing to pre-pandemic levels and save £1 billion.

The Whitehall workforce has been on the rise: the Institute for Government thinktank at the end of 2022 said it had risen by 25% since 2016 and by 10% between 2020 and 2021 alone. It estimated that “ around half of the growth of the civil service (since 2016) relates to new, permanent post-Brexit functions”.

It also says that the increase means the number of civil servants dealing with policy has doubled in that time.

Cutting back on Whitehall numbers at a time of declining morale and tight budgets, while trying to retain the necessary talent to deliver improvements in public services many voters are clamouring for could be challenging.

One key takeaway from Jeremy Hunt's speech this afternoon was the chancellor's ambition to reduce the number of employees working in the civil service to pre-pandemic levels.

Ultimately, Hunt wants the number of public service employees reduced by about 66,000.

"We have the best civil servants in the world and they saved many lives in the pandemic by working night and day. But even after that pandemic's over, we still have 66,000 more civil servants than before. New policies should not always mean more people", he said.

How is the government going to do this? Hunt says "amongst other things, changing our approach to diversity and inclusion".

The government says in a press release that it will review spending on equality, diversity and inclusion and focus on tackling "unnecessary bureaucracy and improved use of technology" to reduce the headcount.

But it will be a tiered approach, first the government will immediately implement a hiring freeze while each department works out where jobs can be reduced.

Image source, PA Media

It's been a busy day at the Conservative party conference, so it's time for a recap of the key announcements, addresses and developments from the day.

Here it goes:

• Despite ministers' best efforts, questions over the future of HS2 dominated the conference for a second day running
• Earlier, Downing Street insisted that "no final decisions have been taken" on the high-speed rail link, calling reports the Manchester leg was about to be scrapped by the PM "incorrect"
• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt did not mention the issue during his address this afternoon - focusing instead on his announcement that the national living wage will rise to at least £11 an hour
• He also declared a freeze on the expansion of the civil service and said the government would look at the way the benefits sanctions regime works
• Earlier in the day, Hunt told the BBC taxes will not come down this year
• But hot on his heels came former prime minister Liz Truss, who called on the chancellor to cut corporation tax back to 19%
• "Let's make Britain grow again," she told a packed fringe event

The Labour Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has said reports the Manchester leg of HS2 will be shelved are "profoundly depressing".

Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference, he said: "This will be remembered as the conference when they pulled the plug on us.

"What gives them the right to treat people here in Greater Manchester and the north of England as second-class citizens?"

Image source, Reuters

The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has reacted to claims the government has made a decision about HS2.

A reminder, a Tory spokesperson earlier denied this claim.

She said the "fiasco" showed the divisions within the Conservative party and the uncertainty around HS2 had now prompted weeks of "chaos" and "indecision" on the biggest infrastructure project in the country.

“This shambolic conference is showcasing precisely why working people cannot afford five more years of the Conservatives.”

More reaction too from the Liberal Democrats whose transport spokeswoman, Wera Hobhouse, said the Tory party conference has "become mired in chaos while the country suffers".

Does high-speed rail cost ten times more than similar projects in France?published at 16:14 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

16:14 BST 2 October 2023

As we've been telling you, there has much speculation about HS2 and whether the Birmingham to Manchester leg will be scrapped amid escalating costs.

Jeremy Hunt earlier said that "it costs ten times more" to build high speed rail in the UK compared with France.

BBC Verify has asked the Treasury how this figure was calculated, but have not received a reply yet.

There are no recent comparisons between the cost in France and the UK.

In 2015, a House of Lords report from 2015, external estimated the cost of building HS2 at “up to nine times higher than the cost of constructing high speed lines in France”.

The report estimated the HS2 Phase One construction (which started at 2017) cost at around £90m per kilometre while similar projects in France, carried out between 1990 to 2011, cost between £9m-£15m per kilometre (in 2010 prices).

The report said possible reasons for the price difference include expensive tunnelling required in the UK but not in France, the cost of a new station at Birmingham and renovation of Euston station, as well as the state of the UK railway construction industry.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

There’s a strange mood around this conference.

Rishi Sunak had wanted to use it to give his leadership a big boost; to set the political agenda.

That doesn't seem to be happening so far.

Instead, the debate on tax is continuing to dominate. Despite Liz Truss having a disastrous time in Downing Street, she’s still clearly popular here and is making hay with her calls for tax cuts.

At the same time, the "will they/won’t they" over HS2 is turning into a bit of a mess.

It's seemed pretty clear for days that the Birmingham-Manchester leg will be cancelled.

But ministers are just refusing to discuss it. Despite a widespread belief a decision could be soon, No 10 insists no final decision has been made. Will that change tomorrow? We can’t discuss timings, insiders say.

There are still a couple of days to go. The last day is always the most important with the leader’s speech.

But so far, this isn’t really going to plan for the prime minister.

HS2 is major theme of Tory party conference - whether they like it or notpublished at 15:45 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

15:45 BST 2 October 2023

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

One of the joys of covering party conferences is those simmering stories which suddenly bubble over and dominate the agenda – wrecking the parties’ best-laid plans in the process.

That has happened with HS2 this afternoon. Some outlets reported shortly before Jeremy Hunt’s speech began that Downing Street had now definitively decided to scrap the leg from Birmingham to Manchester.

If right, that would be the worst-kept secret in politics. Ministers from Rishi Sunak down have been incapable of answering questions about the fate of the rail project for a fortnight now.

If they did not expect the issue to become a major theme of conference – a conference taking place in Manchester, no less – then that was an epic miscalculation.

HS2 clearly set for big changes - or we'd have heard otherwise by nowpublished at 15:28 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

15:28 BST 2 October 2023

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Downing Street are pushing back hard at the claims that the fate of HS2 has been settled.

A No 10 spokesperson said:

For those of us who follow these things, it is striking that Downing Street were willing to put this denial in the words of a spokesperson, rather than issuing it as a “source” – which would have been a softer denial.

A lot of this row hinges on almost-philosophical questions about what a "final decision" is. If the HS2 leg from Birmingham to Manchester was going ahead as planned, ministers would have said so by now.

There have been lots of discussions at the very top of government about this. Indeed, that’s how the speculation started: a long-lens photo of a briefing document being carried into Downing Street which alluded to questions over HS2's fate. But we don’t think those discussions have yet been broadened out to the full cabinet team you would expect to be bound in to a decision of this significance.

So HS2 is clearly set for big changes. The internal government process for rubber-stamping those changes is messy and is beginning to spill out into the public view.

The fact that this conference risks being completely overwhelmed by speculation may yet force Sunak to make the announcement sooner rather than later.

There's been speculation that the PM is poised to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 during this party conference.

On Sunday, Rishi Sunak refused to say if the high-speed line would be axed.

But in a statement, after further media reports today, a Downing Street spokesman said that the reports circulated so far were "incorrect".

"No final decisions have been taken on Phase 2 of HS2," the spokesman said.

Image source, .

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Jeremy Hunt’s big new announcement – the rabbit in the hat – was a reduction in civil service numbers.

It certainly went down well with the party members in the room. Follow-up information from the Conservative Party suggests the reductions will be especially focused on civil servants working on diversity and equality.

The problem for the Conservative Party is that rather than the chancellor’s rabbit, many are focused on the elephant in the room: HS2.

Rumours are swirling around the conference that the announcement of what now feels inevitable – either cancelling or delaying the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 – is coming sooner rather than later.

Downing Street is clearly determined to stick to its own planning grid. It risks other announcements being overshadowed in the meantime.

Badenoch says it has been a difficult time to be in government anywhere in the world.

But she says Brexit is being blamed for every problem.

"I'm here to set the record straight," she tells the conference.

She praises the UK economy and says the UK's recovery from Covid has outpaced France and Germany.

She says London remains the top financial investment destination in Europe.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch is speaking now.

She says when she travels for business, she hears admiration for the UK, but remembers “that our political opponents back home and their friends in the media continue to speak about our country like it’s an irrelevant nation. We reject this narrative".

She says the Tories are prepared to make difficult decisions their opponents are not.