Sunak's speech is due to start in just over half an hour, but the cabinet has been meeting in Manchester ahead of that, likely to ratify the prime minister's plans to axe part of the HS2 rail line.

The prime minister will use the speech to announce the scrapping of the high-speed rail line from the West Midlands to Manchester - we'll bring all the breaking lines to you live, right here.

Image source, Reuters

Let's have a little flashback. This time last year, Liz Truss was preparing to give her maiden speech as prime minister to the Conservative Party conference, having only become PM a few weeks before.

She had already presided over a period of national mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and she and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had delivered their now notorious mini-budget, which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts.

Image source, Getty Images

By the time of Kwarteng's speech, he'd already ditched part of their programme after market turmoil. And only a few weeks later, both he and Truss were out, with her lasting only last 49 days in office.

Sunak is surely hoping for better this year...

Becky Morton
Reporting from the Conservative conference

Image source, BBC News

Smruti Patel, a Conservative councillor in Epping Forest, is waiting in line to watch the prime minister’s speech - due to start within the hour.

If Rishi Sunak confirms he's scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2, Smruti says she wouldn't be hugely concerned - as long as there are other improvements announced for transport links.

"If you think something isn’t working, we need to give them the leeway to make changes," she says.

Expect a bold move from Sunakpublished at 10:51 British Summer Time 4 October 2023

10:51 BST 4 October 2023

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, at the Conservative conference

Image source, Getty Images

Rishi Sunak is going to attempt something very unusual in this speech – and beyond.

His pollsters, I'm told, have got the message loud and clear that the public wants things to change.

In this situation, many leaders would try to persuade the public they're wrong - but Sunak is taking a different approach.

He'll try to tell the public that they are right: that politics has failed them, not just over the past few tumultuous years but for much, much longer.

It’s certainly a bold move for a Conservative leader asking the public to give his party a fifth consecutive term.

Labour are likely to point out that Sunak has been at the heart of the government for the past few years, while crucial lieutenants like Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, and Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, have been in the cabinet for most of the past 13 years.

Chris Mason
Political editor, at the Conservative conference

An entirely trivial but colourful little moment just now here.

On a morning of a big speech from the prime minister, and a briefing for senior ministers beforehand, a cabinet minister hurtles into the breakfast room of the Midland Hotel.

On her plate? An eclectic selection: a fried egg, two slices of pineapple and a hash brown.

Thirty seconds later, they're all gone - and so was the minister.

And to think, some people raise an eyebrow about pineapple on pizza.

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.

It may be the talk of the conference, but news about scrapping a high-speed rail line between Manchester and Birmingham is barely audible to the working parents queuing up at a baby bank or food bank.

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 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.

Image source, Getty Images

We've heard plenty this morning from those who oppose Rishi Sunak's plan to scrap part of the HS2 high-speed rail line from the West Midlands to Manchester.

But Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen is in favour of axing the project.

He says dispersing the money saved across the country could deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail, another line which aims to improve connections between Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

He told a conference fringe event that the "indecision" on HS2 was a "distraction".

"I think that money could be better spent on other things," he said.

Image source, HS2

What is it - and what's the route?

High Speed 2 or HS2 is a rail line intended to create faster links between London and major cities in the Midlands and North of England (it comes after HS1 which connects London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel).

A leg between London and Birmingham is already being built. Another to Leeds has been scrapped and the prime minister is today expected to axe a branch to Manchester.

Who gave it the go ahead?

The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government approved it in 2012 - it's the UK's largest infrastructure project.

What's the cost so far?

The first estimate in 2010 was for about £33bn, but the most recent official estimate is more than double that, at £71bn.

And those numbers don't account for recent inflation. At least £24.7bn has been spent on the project, with some of this on the apparently-doomed Manchester branch.

Image source, .

Why's it been so expensive?

Various factors including the price of buying up land, the cost of moving roads and even rivers, and allegations that HS2 Ltd has failed to account for enough risk and uncertainty.

What next?

The government appears to be looking at ways to reallocate the funding for regional rail projects in the north of England. Phase one of the project, connecting London and Birmingham, is still going ahead - and trains are then expected to continue to Manchester on slower, existing tracks.

• Read more here

Becky Morton
Reporting from Manchester

The prime minister’s speech isn’t until after 11:30 - but there’s already a long queue forming to grab a space in the 800-seat auditorium.

Image source, PA Media

Luckily you won't need to queue - we'll be following it all live here, and you'll be able to watch along at the top of the page.

At last the HS2 speculation comes to an endpublished at 09:44 British Summer Time 4 October 2023

09:44 BST 4 October 2023

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Well, it’s finally out there. It’s become increasingly clear over recent days and weeks that something was up with HS2.

At last this morning the government – in the form of Grant Shapps, the defence secretary – has acknowledged that all this was not in fact “speculation” but actually leaks and briefings relating to something Downing Street has been working on surreptitiously for months.

The moment when Rishi Sunak comes to talk about HS2 in his speech will be significant.

After all the furious public lobbying of the past few days, the prime minister will get the opportunity now to define the argument in his own terms.

Most crucially, he will have his first chance to talk about the other side of the equation: what the government wants to spend the money on instead.

Emily Atkinson
Live reporter

Image source, epa

Cancelling the HS2 line from the West Midlands to Manchester would "deprive" overlooked talent across the north of England from accessing opportunities, threatening to further widen the already significant gap with the South, says the founder of a Manchester-based upskilling business.

Ashley Ramrachia, the CEO of Academy, tells the BBC that “fast, affordable connections are vital for northern growth, linking Manchester’s booming economy to diverse talent pools in neighbouring cities".

“If the rumours are true, this decision will hamper these opportunities,” he adds.

“Manchester led the first revolution by building connections. To lead again, connections must be strengthened, not severed,” Ramrachia says, as he calls on the government to show the north they are committed to “true levelling up”.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has cancelled a planned trip abroad today – and will remain at the Conservative Party conference.

Andy Street, who has repeatedly refused to rule out resigning from his role over the cancellation of high speed rail between Birmingham and Manchester, is understood to be furious at what the prime minister will announce later.

He was due to travel to Munich today but will now stay in Manchester to react to Rishi Sunak’s speech at lunchtime.

Some Tories fear Street could walk away from his role immediately. Others think he might announce that he won’t stand again for election in May of next year.

Labour would regard their chances of winning the mayoralty to be significantly improved were Street not to be the Conservative candidate.

A little earlier we heard from Henri Murison, from the business group Northern Powerhouse Partnership, and he still isn't happy about the prime minister's HS2 plans.

He hoped that a section of the high-speed line between Manchester Airport and Piccadilly station in the city could still be built.

But he tells BBC Breakfast his understanding is the prime minister isn't going to do that either.

"We've lost our new north-south line and a key part of that east-west line," he says.

"All the plans that the North have been offered by the last 13 years of this government have been literally thrown in the dustbin," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Rishi Sunak's potential plan to takes trains off HS2 lines at Birmingham and put them on slower existing tracks of the West Coast Mainline is "just not a workable plan", says Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester.

He says the message the UK is giving to the world is that "we can't do big and difficult things anymore" and it "doesn't reflect well on Britain".

The Labour mayor says people travelling to Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond "suffer daily", and a new line across the north of England is the country's highest transport priority.

Would Labour reinstate plans for the Birmingham to Manchester HS2 link if it was in power? He "certainly hopes" so.

He "absolutely will be hoping to persuade them [the party leadership] to go ahead with it", he tells BBC Breakfast.

Image source, PA Media

Henri Murison is the chief executive of Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a body of business and civic leaders in the north of England

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the decision to scrap the Birmingham-Manchester section of HS2 is a "national tragedy – economically at least".

"That's because… in 100 years the economy of the North will be smaller because of this decision."

He says building new lines between northern cities and then connecting them to London was about creating a bigger labour market and a more productive economy.

Murison says he also fears he lost an argument that should have been made long ago – that HS2 was not just about trains. It was also about "van drivers on the M6" - because if you take lorries off the road by moving what they're transporting onto trains, then people who never use the trains can get around more easily.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps insisted people's travel habits have changed since the Covid pandemic, and suggested there were other ways the money could be spent that "might be better".

He says that's something we'll have to wait for in the prime minister's speech today.

Image source, EPA

We’ve already had a sneak preview of some of the things Rishi Sunak will say in his speech later, and in it he’ll reflect on his first year as prime minister.

He will say that “politics doesn’t work the way it should”, before setting out how he wants to change the way our political system works and end the 30-year political status quo.

“We’ve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one” he will tell the Conservative Party conference.

“Our political system is too focused on short term advantage, not long-term success. Our mission is to fundamentally change our country.”

Sunak will also hit out at Labour - saying the party’s approach is “everything that is wrong with our politics”.

"The Labour Party have set out their stall: to do and say as little as possible and hope no one notices. It is about power for the sake of power,” he will say.

It’s the final day of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is the headline act.

The main event of the day is starting mid-morning, with Sunak expected to announce the scrapping of the HS2 high-speed rail line from the West Midlands to Manchester.

Here's the line-up of speakers from 11:15:

• Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt MP
• Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Jonny Mercer
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

We’ll be bringing you the key lines from their speeches and you'll be able to watch the action live by clicking Play at the top of this page.

Image source, PA Media

One of the biggest critics of scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 has been Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street. On Tuesday he said announcing the decision while holding a conference in Manchester would be "an incredible political gaffe".

Speaking at a conference fringe event, Street said it would give Labour the opportunity to claim Rishi Sunak had decided to "shaft the north",

"Every Labour MP in the North is lining up tomorrow to say... the Tories have come to Manchester to shaft the North."

Shapps is pushed on BBC Breakfast about what the decision on HS2 says about how the Conservatives have managed the rail project.

He says even the government's harshest critics would not say they could have predicted coronavirus or the changes it has brought to things like travel and working patterns.

Shapps says a decision like this shows how Suank approaches things.

"Rather than thinking about things in the short term he's prepared to look at difficult decisions and do the hard things.

"It's much harder to change track on this… than it is to just plough on."

Shapps adds that it's hard to judge the whole package until Sunak's speech, suggesting we will learn where money freed up by changing HS2 will be spent.