There's more to come from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this afternoon. From 15:00, we're going to be hearing from:
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk
Home Secretary Suella Braverman
We'll bring you the key points from their speeches to party members - don't forget you can watch along by pressing Play at the top of the page.
Why some MPs don't want HS2 leg to Manchester
Many MPs believe it would be a good idea to scrap the HS2 leg to Manchester. One of them is the Conservative MP for Shipley, Philip Davies.
He told the BBC that the original purpose of the project was to act as a high speed rail link between Heathrow Airport and Leeds and Manchester.
But he says it's "ludicrous" to build something no matter the cost, saying the money would be better invested in northern transport.
"In Yorkshire the easiest bit is getting to London. The bit that doesn’t work is getting across the North. It takes me longer to get from Bradford to Liverpool than it does to get to Bradford to London. What we need is transport infrastructure to get across the North.”
Theresa May fans queue for book signing
Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the Conservative conference
Former Prime Minister Theresa May has drawn a huge crowd for her book signing.
Hundreds of Tory members are queuing patiently for a few moments with their former leader.
“We all have incredible respect for her,” one told me, as they wait to get The Abuse of Power signed.
BBCCopyright: BBC
HS2 is a gamble - Tory deputy chairman
Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Conservative conference
BBCCopyright: BBC
It's standing room only in Manchester for an interview with Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson.
It’s raining heavily on the marquee but there are still people outside pressing their noses against the window to get a glimpse of the MP.
So far he’s told the audience how he, as an ex-miner, came to forgive Margaret Thatcher.
Asked if he would ever consider joining the Labour Party, he jokingly calls for security.
On HS2, he expresses scepticism.
“What is the point of having a high speed rail link going through my constituency when I’ve got pensioners who can’t get a bus to their doctors appointment two miles away?
"HS2 is a gamble and a bad gambler will always keep throwing money at something.”
Why does he think the prime minister made him deputy chair, asks the interviewer. “Probably to shut me up,” he says.
Ministers must not 'flip flop about' over HS2 - Tory mayor
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Andy Street spoke at an impromptu press conference yesterdayImage caption: Andy Street spoke at an impromptu press conference yesterday
West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street is adamant that the high speed rail line HS2 must connect to Manchester, and says he can help the UK government finance it.
Street - who spoke in favour of the project yesterday - told BBC Radio 4's World At One he understands "a grip has to be got" on the finances - but adds that private sector companies could help.
He points at private companies financing railways in France as a example.
International investors have come to British cities on the promise of this rail line, he says, and the government must not "flip flop about" and change its mind now.
Street warns that Sunak would be "turning his back on one of the best opportunities for levelling up" if the rail line is cancelled.
What are the East-West alternatives to HS2?
Hannah Miller
Political correspondent
Faced with endless questions
about the future of HS2, ministers have increasingly started answering with
reference to better "East-West" rail links.
An influential grouping of Conservative MPs, called the Northern Research Group, have indicated that's a
compromise they might be willing to accept.
They're calling for a line connecting Liverpool to Hull, which they've named “the Charles Line”.
This is essentially a rebrand of
Northern Powerhouse Rail, first conceived by George Osborne in 2014.
What the Charles Line might look
like depends on who you talk to. Is it a mixture of new lines and upgrades
spanning from Liverpool across to Hull, up to Newcastle and down to Sheffield,
with a stop in Bradford?
Or a less expensive version, relying
more heavily on existing track, which cuts out Bradford?
Both of these routes were designed to intersect with HS2. If the northern extension of HS2 to Manchester
doesn’t go ahead, the East-West line would be burdened with extra cost of
around £15bn, plus the cost of a redesign.
Conservative Tees Valley Mayor
Ben Houchen claims you can have Northern Powerhouse Rail without HS2. Rail
experts fear that the business case for that does not add up.
But with no agreed route in place - or funding - it's unlikely to be given the green light before a general
election.
Farage for Tory leader?
Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the Conservative conference
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Nigel Farage seems to be everywhere you look here in
Manchester.
The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader has received a
hero’s welcome from right wing Tories at various events, including Liz Truss’s
fringe speech yesterday.
In his UKIP days, Farage was barred from attending Tory
conferences. Now that he is a GB News presenter he is free to booze and
schmooze with the Tory tribe. Something he has taken full advantage of, if the
widely-shared footage of him dancing with Priti Patel at a party last night is
anything to go by.
Farage quit the Tory party in the early '90s over Europe, but
his friend Jacob Rees-Mogg has just told the BBC's Politics Live he has always
been a Tory at heart.
Rees-Mogg even suggested the Conservatives should "roll out
the red carpet" if Farage wanted to rejoin.
Tory chairman Greg Hands seemed less than impressed with this
idea, pointing to Farage's long record of campaigning against the
Conservatives.
Inflation numbers are improving - Sunak
The prime minister says he's confident his policies - such as providing more money for towns or tackling inflation - are the ones people want to hear about.
And he says halving inflation - one of his five priorities - is the "best tax cut I can deliver".
"The numbers are improving and we've just got to see it through and deliver it and it will make a big difference to everyone's wallets," he tells our political editor Chris Mason.
Sunak promised to halve inflation by the end of the year, which would mean reducing it to around 5.3% (the latest figures put it at 6.7%) - we won't find out if he's succeeded until mid-January 2024.
See how the numbers are looking for yourself below:
.Copyright: .
Sunak yet again refuses to comment on HS2's future
The prime minister once again refuses to comment on the fate of
the high speed rail line HS2.
Rishi Sunak tells the BBC's Chris Mason he will go through the details
of the plan before "making what I believe is the right decision in the
long term for our country".
There has been much speculation about the future of HS2, particularly
whether the leg connecting Birmingham and Manchester - where the Conservative
Party conference is being held - will be scrapped.
Take a look at the
HS2 lines here:
.Copyright: .
And if you need more of a reminder, you can get up to (high) speed with HS2 here.
Sunak denies being overshadowed at conference
Video content
Video caption: Sunak asked: Is this what leadership looks like?Sunak asked: Is this what leadership looks like?
Rishi Sunak has been sitting down with the BBC's political editor Chris Mason. In the interview, the prime minister denies being overshadowed by fellow Tories at the Conservative Party conference, including former PM Liz Truss – who drew a large crowd for her speech yesterday.
Sunak says his colleagues are not dominating the agenda at his first party conference as prime minister.
Instead, he says the things he is talking about will "make a real difference to people".
Many in North need other improvements before HS2
Fiona Trott
North of England Correspondent
Here in the North East, 38% of children and young people are believed to be growing up in poverty.
The noises coming from over 100 miles away in Manchester about scrapping a rail line between there and Birmingham are barely audible to the working parents queuing up at a baby bank or food bank today.
Many will tell you a better bus service from their former coalfield community to get them to their shift at a giant warehouse is more important.
But it all comes down to this – levelling up means different things to different people in different parts of the north.
Some business leaders say it comes in the form of a Northern Powerhouse Rail linking this region to the North West (although there’s concern today that too is in doubt).
For some families though - who helped the Conservatives gain so many "red wall" seats with their promise of levelling up - they say they want to feel the effects more quickly than the time it takes to build any rail link.
How Wales could win out if Manchester link scrapped
Gareth Lewis
BBC Wales political editor at the Conservative Party conference
Sensitive
though it is - you have to whisper it in this hall - Manchester’s loss could be
Wales’s gain… in theory.
Despite
not a millimetre of track being laid in Wales, HS2 is an England AND Wales
project. The argument is that an interchange at Crewe would benefit passengers
going to and from North Wales to London.
If
the Birmingham to Manchester leg disappears then so does the argument.
There
is cross-party Senedd support and from the Welsh Affairs Select Committee to
re-designate HS2 as England-only and for Wales to get equivalent funding under
the Barnett Formula – maybe as much as £5bn.
But
under the devolution settlement heavy rail infrastructure IS an England and
Wales matter.
Whether
high-tech HS2 to Manchester hits the buffers or not, expect plenty of
old-fashioned steam to keep billowing over Wales’s share of funding.
When is the next election?
This could be the last conference season before the next election.
UK general elections - where all 650 MPs are elected to the House of
Commons - have to be held no more than five years apart.
This means the next election is due by January
2025.
This represents five years from the day the current Parliament first met
(17 December 2019), plus the time required to run an election campaign.
But the prime minister has the power to call an early poll at any time of their choosing, within the
five-year period.
Some pundits say the PM is likely to hold the vote in autumn
2024.
We're up for a general election fight, says Gove
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove finished addressing the party conference a few moments ago. Here's a recap:
Gove referenced the next general election several times, saying "the Conservatives are up for the fight". An election must be held by January 2025, but it could be called sooner
As expected at a party conference, he praised the record of the Conservative government, saying they have "delivered better state schools than ever before", a stronger defence, and an economy that has grown "faster than France or Germany" since the pandemic
And he said the government was on track to deliver on its target of one million homes during this Parliament, which will be energy efficient and carbon neutral - read more about this target here
Trans women may be banned from women's NHS wards
We've just heard more details from the health secretary about planned
changes in NHS settings.
Transgender people may be banned from single-sex hospital wards under
plans to restore "common sense" in the NHS, according to Steve
Barclay.
A consultation later this year will be launched to address
"concerns raised by both patients and staff about biological men being
allowed onto women’s hospital wards", the government says in a press
release.
It adds that the plans are intended to protect female or male-only
wards, and ensure requests for intimate care to be carried out by someone of
the same sex are respected.
Barclay goes on to say that references to women erased from the NHS website's pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause have been restored.
He says he has stopped the NHS ordering staff to declare pronouns to each new patient.
Barclay announces plans to 'protect rights of women' in the NHS
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is the first minister to take to the main stage at the Conservative Party conference today. He says he plans to change the NHS constitution following a consultation later this year to "make sure we respect the privacy, dignity and safety" of all patients.
He said this would "recognise the importance of different biological needs" and "protect the rights of women".
Here's what's coming up
Jemma Crew
Live reporter
We've heard a lot about the future of HS2 this morning, Here's what we've learned if you're just joining us:
The PM was repeatedly pressed over concerns about the future of the project - in particular the leg between Birmingham and Manchester
He said he has not yet taken a decision on HS2 and won't be "forced into a premature decision"
Sunak also insisted the government has not given upon the rail project
Asked about the Tory Party Conference in Manchester, now in its third day, Sunak described the mood as "great"
But HS2 is not the only topic up for discussion.
We'll soon hear from Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who will be addressing the Tory Party Conference at 11:00 BST.
Several other cabinet ministers, such as Michelle Donelan, Michael Gove and Suella Braverman, will take the main stage later today.
You can watch live at the top of the page. We'll be bringing you key developments and analysis from the conference here, so stay with us.
Opportunities for businesses 'enormous' - former Crossrail boss
Rob Holden, who we heard from earlier, says HS2 would bring "enormous" opportunities for businesses.
He is the former CEO of Crossrail - which saw the creation of the Elizabeth line running from the west to the east of London, and chairman of HS1 - the rail line connecting London and the Channel Tunnel.
He told Nicky
Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I happen to be a Mancunian
and I would support developing the infrastructure in the Northwest of England.
Quote Message: I would say the opportunities, particularly for business, to benefit from HS2 are enormous, and that we've seen in France with their high-speed link.
I would say the opportunities, particularly for business, to benefit from HS2 are enormous, and that we've seen in France with their high-speed link.
Quote Message: I think if this government is serious, if this country is serious about levelling up and giving opportunities for the likes of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, etc then we do need to improve the infrastructure."
I think if this government is serious, if this country is serious about levelling up and giving opportunities for the likes of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, etc then we do need to improve the infrastructure."
HS2 - the view from the North
Danny Savage
North of England correspondent
It was accepted that the government would have to level parts of the North to level up. But quite where the landscape will change is now unclear.
The Cheshire countryside is likely to remain unscarred if the mood music is correct and the leg from Birmingham to Manchester is axed.
So could rail links across and under the Pennines between Leeds and Manchester instead be supercharged? The current Victorian infrastructure is creaking - just ask any regular traveller on the line.
Last Monday I was onboard an evening service from Manchester to Saltburn which broke down in the shadow of the western hills. My earlier train had already been cancelled.
Delays and cancellations of this sort are all too frequent, which is why northern leaders say HS2 is vital, to level up and provide a short bit of essential shared line for east-west services between Manchester airport and the city centre. Lose HS2, lose that new section and, according to one council leader, levelling up is dead.
Live Reporting
Edited by Dulcie Lee and Nathan Williams
All times stated are UK
Get involved
Here's what's coming up
There's more to come from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this afternoon. From 15:00, we're going to be hearing from:
We'll bring you the key points from their speeches to party members - don't forget you can watch along by pressing Play at the top of the page.
Why some MPs don't want HS2 leg to Manchester
Many MPs believe it would be a good idea to scrap the HS2 leg to Manchester. One of them is the Conservative MP for Shipley, Philip Davies.
He told the BBC that the original purpose of the project was to act as a high speed rail link between Heathrow Airport and Leeds and Manchester.
But he says it's "ludicrous" to build something no matter the cost, saying the money would be better invested in northern transport.
"In Yorkshire the easiest bit is getting to London. The bit that doesn’t work is getting across the North. It takes me longer to get from Bradford to Liverpool than it does to get to Bradford to London. What we need is transport infrastructure to get across the North.”
Theresa May fans queue for book signing
Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the Conservative conference
Former Prime Minister Theresa May has drawn a huge crowd for her book signing.
Hundreds of Tory members are queuing patiently for a few moments with their former leader.
“We all have incredible respect for her,” one told me, as they wait to get The Abuse of Power signed.
HS2 is a gamble - Tory deputy chairman
Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Conservative conference
It's standing room only in Manchester for an interview with Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson.
It’s raining heavily on the marquee but there are still people outside pressing their noses against the window to get a glimpse of the MP.
So far he’s told the audience how he, as an ex-miner, came to forgive Margaret Thatcher.
Asked if he would ever consider joining the Labour Party, he jokingly calls for security.
On HS2, he expresses scepticism.
“What is the point of having a high speed rail link going through my constituency when I’ve got pensioners who can’t get a bus to their doctors appointment two miles away?
"HS2 is a gamble and a bad gambler will always keep throwing money at something.”
Why does he think the prime minister made him deputy chair, asks the interviewer. “Probably to shut me up,” he says.
Ministers must not 'flip flop about' over HS2 - Tory mayor
West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street is adamant that the high speed rail line HS2 must connect to Manchester, and says he can help the UK government finance it.
Street - who spoke in favour of the project yesterday - told BBC Radio 4's World At One he understands "a grip has to be got" on the finances - but adds that private sector companies could help.
He points at private companies financing railways in France as a example.
International investors have come to British cities on the promise of this rail line, he says, and the government must not "flip flop about" and change its mind now.
Street warns that Sunak would be "turning his back on one of the best opportunities for levelling up" if the rail line is cancelled.
What are the East-West alternatives to HS2?
Hannah Miller
Political correspondent
Faced with endless questions about the future of HS2, ministers have increasingly started answering with reference to better "East-West" rail links.
An influential grouping of Conservative MPs, called the Northern Research Group, have indicated that's a compromise they might be willing to accept.
They're calling for a line connecting Liverpool to Hull, which they've named “the Charles Line”.
This is essentially a rebrand of Northern Powerhouse Rail, first conceived by George Osborne in 2014.
What the Charles Line might look like depends on who you talk to. Is it a mixture of new lines and upgrades spanning from Liverpool across to Hull, up to Newcastle and down to Sheffield, with a stop in Bradford?
Or a less expensive version, relying more heavily on existing track, which cuts out Bradford?
Both of these routes were designed to intersect with HS2. If the northern extension of HS2 to Manchester doesn’t go ahead, the East-West line would be burdened with extra cost of around £15bn, plus the cost of a redesign.
Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen claims you can have Northern Powerhouse Rail without HS2. Rail experts fear that the business case for that does not add up.
But with no agreed route in place - or funding - it's unlikely to be given the green light before a general election.
Farage for Tory leader?
Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the Conservative conference
Nigel Farage seems to be everywhere you look here in Manchester.
The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader has received a hero’s welcome from right wing Tories at various events, including Liz Truss’s fringe speech yesterday.
Tory commentator Tim Montgomerie said: "I'm convinced party members would choose him as leader if they could."
In his UKIP days, Farage was barred from attending Tory conferences. Now that he is a GB News presenter he is free to booze and schmooze with the Tory tribe. Something he has taken full advantage of, if the widely-shared footage of him dancing with Priti Patel at a party last night is anything to go by.
Farage quit the Tory party in the early '90s over Europe, but his friend Jacob Rees-Mogg has just told the BBC's Politics Live he has always been a Tory at heart.
Rees-Mogg even suggested the Conservatives should "roll out the red carpet" if Farage wanted to rejoin.
Tory chairman Greg Hands seemed less than impressed with this idea, pointing to Farage's long record of campaigning against the Conservatives.
Inflation numbers are improving - Sunak
The prime minister says he's confident his policies - such as providing more money for towns or tackling inflation - are the ones people want to hear about.
And he says halving inflation - one of his five priorities - is the "best tax cut I can deliver".
"The numbers are improving and we've just got to see it through and deliver it and it will make a big difference to everyone's wallets," he tells our political editor Chris Mason.
Sunak promised to halve inflation by the end of the year, which would mean reducing it to around 5.3% (the latest figures put it at 6.7%) - we won't find out if he's succeeded until mid-January 2024.
See how the numbers are looking for yourself below:
Sunak yet again refuses to comment on HS2's future
The prime minister once again refuses to comment on the fate of the high speed rail line HS2.
Rishi Sunak tells the BBC's Chris Mason he will go through the details of the plan before "making what I believe is the right decision in the long term for our country".
There has been much speculation about the future of HS2, particularly whether the leg connecting Birmingham and Manchester - where the Conservative Party conference is being held - will be scrapped.
Take a look at the HS2 lines here:
And if you need more of a reminder, you can get up to (high) speed with HS2 here.
Sunak denies being overshadowed at conference
Video content
Rishi Sunak has been sitting down with the BBC's political editor Chris Mason. In the interview, the prime minister denies being overshadowed by fellow Tories at the Conservative Party conference, including former PM Liz Truss – who drew a large crowd for her speech yesterday.
Sunak says his colleagues are not dominating the agenda at his first party conference as prime minister.
Instead, he says the things he is talking about will "make a real difference to people".
Many in North need other improvements before HS2
Fiona Trott
North of England Correspondent
Here in the North East, 38% of children and young people are believed to be growing up in poverty.
The noises coming from over 100 miles away in Manchester about scrapping a rail line between there and Birmingham are barely audible to the working parents queuing up at a baby bank or food bank today.
Many will tell you a better bus service from their former coalfield community to get them to their shift at a giant warehouse is more important.
But it all comes down to this – levelling up means different things to different people in different parts of the north.
Some business leaders say it comes in the form of a Northern Powerhouse Rail linking this region to the North West (although there’s concern today that too is in doubt).
For some families though - who helped the Conservatives gain so many "red wall" seats with their promise of levelling up - they say they want to feel the effects more quickly than the time it takes to build any rail link.
How Wales could win out if Manchester link scrapped
Gareth Lewis
BBC Wales political editor at the Conservative Party conference
Sensitive though it is - you have to whisper it in this hall - Manchester’s loss could be Wales’s gain… in theory.
Despite not a millimetre of track being laid in Wales, HS2 is an England AND Wales project. The argument is that an interchange at Crewe would benefit passengers going to and from North Wales to London.
If the Birmingham to Manchester leg disappears then so does the argument.
There is cross-party Senedd support and from the Welsh Affairs Select Committee to re-designate HS2 as England-only and for Wales to get equivalent funding under the Barnett Formula – maybe as much as £5bn.
But under the devolution settlement heavy rail infrastructure IS an England and Wales matter.
Whether high-tech HS2 to Manchester hits the buffers or not, expect plenty of old-fashioned steam to keep billowing over Wales’s share of funding.
When is the next election?
This could be the last conference season before the next election.
UK general elections - where all 650 MPs are elected to the House of Commons - have to be held no more than five years apart.
This means the next election is due by January 2025.
This represents five years from the day the current Parliament first met (17 December 2019), plus the time required to run an election campaign.
But the prime minister has the power to call an early poll at any time of their choosing, within the five-year period.
Some pundits say the PM is likely to hold the vote in autumn 2024.
We're up for a general election fight, says Gove
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove finished addressing the party conference a few moments ago. Here's a recap:
Trans women may be banned from women's NHS wards
We've just heard more details from the health secretary about planned changes in NHS settings.
Transgender people may be banned from single-sex hospital wards under plans to restore "common sense" in the NHS, according to Steve Barclay.
A consultation later this year will be launched to address "concerns raised by both patients and staff about biological men being allowed onto women’s hospital wards", the government says in a press release.
It adds that the plans are intended to protect female or male-only wards, and ensure requests for intimate care to be carried out by someone of the same sex are respected.
Read more here
References to women restored to NHS health advice pages
Barclay goes on to say that references to women erased from the NHS website's pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause have been restored.
He says he has stopped the NHS ordering staff to declare pronouns to each new patient.
Barclay announces plans to 'protect rights of women' in the NHS
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is the first minister to take to the main stage at the Conservative Party conference today. He says he plans to change the NHS constitution following a consultation later this year to "make sure we respect the privacy, dignity and safety" of all patients.
He said this would "recognise the importance of different biological needs" and "protect the rights of women".
Here's what's coming up
Jemma Crew
Live reporter
We've heard a lot about the future of HS2 this morning, Here's what we've learned if you're just joining us:
But HS2 is not the only topic up for discussion.
We'll soon hear from Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who will be addressing the Tory Party Conference at 11:00 BST.
Several other cabinet ministers, such as Michelle Donelan, Michael Gove and Suella Braverman, will take the main stage later today.
You can watch live at the top of the page. We'll be bringing you key developments and analysis from the conference here, so stay with us.
Opportunities for businesses 'enormous' - former Crossrail boss
Rob Holden, who we heard from earlier, says HS2 would bring "enormous" opportunities for businesses.
He is the former CEO of Crossrail - which saw the creation of the Elizabeth line running from the west to the east of London, and chairman of HS1 - the rail line connecting London and the Channel Tunnel.
He told Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I happen to be a Mancunian and I would support developing the infrastructure in the Northwest of England.
HS2 - the view from the North
Danny Savage
North of England correspondent
It was accepted that the government would have to level parts of the North to level up. But quite where the landscape will change is now unclear.
The Cheshire countryside is likely to remain unscarred if the mood music is correct and the leg from Birmingham to Manchester is axed.
So could rail links across and under the Pennines between Leeds and Manchester instead be supercharged? The current Victorian infrastructure is creaking - just ask any regular traveller on the line.
Last Monday I was onboard an evening service from Manchester to Saltburn which broke down in the shadow of the western hills. My earlier train had already been cancelled.
Delays and cancellations of this sort are all too frequent, which is why northern leaders say HS2 is vital, to level up and provide a short bit of essential shared line for east-west services between Manchester airport and the city centre. Lose HS2, lose that new section and, according to one council leader, levelling up is dead.