Autumn statement in november, and he is of course hoping to rally the conservative Party Faithful as much as of course win over the public vote. We are hoping to cross live an hour to our correspondent In Manchester who has been covering the conference throughout the day and throughout the few days. We have heard a couple of speeches so far today. Any standout moment so far . Not in terms of policy. I think there have been rhetoricalflashes. The key think the conservatives are trying to do here is draw a distinction with the labour party and come up with some big points on which they disagree going into a general election. But i think speech we are about to hear in the next few minutes from the chancellor will be a really big moments, actually. Because what the conservatives are trying to argue and persuade us all as they have stabilised the economy from the days of liz truss and they can now move on with bringing inflation down. But what is really interesting is the buzz around here today has been about. You guessed it, liz truss. Hundreds of people across the road were hearing queueing up to hear her say real conservatives want to tax cuts, Corporation Tax should come back down to 90 . And the government should look at other liberalisation is to try and get the economy growing again. So although some think that might be quite surprising to hearfrom liz truss think that might be quite surprising to hear from liz truss given what happened last year, there are a lot of other people in the place of wanting to hear that argument here. She still really popular with conservative members and conservative members and conservative activists. You can see the Prime Minister clapping, waiting for the chancellorjust now. They disagree, they think tax needs to be kept at the level it is at snow until inflation is brought under control. So there is still a tension here and it feels a bit to me like there is a lot more interest in this conference at moment and some of the ideas from the fringes about cutting tax and radical policy rather than what is coming from the government. So the chancellor has a chance in the next few minutes when we hear him speak to set out a bit more of what he thinks the key arguments the conservatives are going to be making r. � , conservatives are going to be making r. And ust talk us through those ke r. And just talk us through those key arguments r. And just talk us through those key arguments we r. And just talk us through those key arguments we are r. And just talk us through those i key arguments we are expecting. R. And just talk us through those i key arguments we are expecting. As r. And just talk us through those key arguments we are expecting. As i said earlier, there has been a lot of preview. Yes, there has come and we have a rough idea of what is coming. I keep looking at my phone because there is so much buzzing around this conference in terms of suggestions about policies that might be coming up. Big questions over hs2 and whether that will be formally scrapped from the government, the Direction Of Travel seems to have been pretty clear from a while, number 10 seems to have been pretty clear from a while, number10 insisting no final decisions have been taken, but possible we will hear more about that in the next few days. In terms of the chancellors speech in the next few minutes, he will try and set the scene for a slightly writer economic picture, i think. He is going to say that the conservatives have stabilised the economy from the times of liz truss who is also a conservative, he will try and talk about some of the things he thinks people should be optimistic about, i think he will talk about the cost of living, what else can be done to bring inflation down. We know of at least two of the announcements he will make, one of the National Living wage going up to £11 an hour and another about benefits reforms to try and incentivise people back into work, that is how the government are selling it, anyway. I think we will hear more about government efficiency, trying to bring down the cost of government, of the Civil Service as well. But the thing a lot of activists here want to latch onto and to be able to talk about is a big vision. A big idea about what the conservatives are going to offer voters in the run up to an election probably next year. It could be in a few months, it could be over a years time. I think it will be really crucial for the chancellorjust now and for the Prime Minister when he speaks on wednesday to try and seize some of that political momentum. Not really sure they have done it so far, not really sure there has been a big bang moment that makes you think, we can see what the conservatives are going to tell voters. These speeches, they are big moments and carried across the media, they get a lot of attention. And although these conferences can often be a bubble, a bubble where internal conversations are as important as what matters to voters, they are a chance to sell a plan to the country, that is what the chancellor will be looking to do. And just as you are talking, i know you are looking around as well because we are expecting the Chancellorjeremy Hunt to take to that stage and deliver that much anticipated speech in the next few minutes. But we also heard from the Transport Secretary mark harper a little earlier on, hs2 is a huge issue in the transport sector. He didnt mention it. Is that a surprise . Didnt mention it. Is that a surrise . ,. ,. , surprise . No, because at that point, the decision surprise . No, because at that point, the decision had surprise . No, because at that point, the decision had not surprise . No, because at that point, the decision had not been surprise . No, because at that point, the decision had not been made, the decision had not been made, were told. So there was nothing for him to say, he has been dodging those questions for days. It is a decision for the Prime Minister, he will be making that decision. I suspect he will want to make it sooner rather than later. But we are still in this place where number 10 are absolutely insistent that the final decision has not been made, although i suspect the wording about final decision is probably quite key. What mark harper did talk about was trying to set some Parameter Points where he thinks that the government can have a big debate with labour. He talks a lot about the politics of the car, about making life easier for drivers, about trying to stop more 20 mph zones where they are a necessary, trying to stop more low traffic neighbourhoods. A really interesting strategy that the conservatives have totally bought into after the by election in uxbridge. They have interpreted that result showing that people are reluctant to sign up for a policy which will affect their pockets, even if they are signed up to net zero in principle. So the conservatives have really gone for that. That was mark harpers speech we have the Chancellorjeremy Hunt now taking to the stage. Im sure you would rather hear from him, now taking to the stage. Im sure you would rather hearfrom him, so lets hand over. Applause good afternoon. , good afternoon. The last time i soke at good afternoon. The last time i spoke at conference good afternoon. The last time i spoke at conference was good afternoon. The last time i spoke at conference was as good afternoon. The last time i spoke at conference was as Foreign Secretary five years ago. After that, i thought my time in government was over. So its great to see the pm getting the over 50s back into meaningful work. I do, however, have some very useful under 50s in my ministerial team, so thank you, john glen, andrew griffith, vicky atkins, gareth davies, paul howell, and Andrew Stevenson and others for their brilliant work. And it is great to be In Manchester. Since 2010, this great region has seen unemployment half, nearly 200,000 morejobs and six new seen unemployment half, nearly 200,000 more jobs and six new tech unicorns. Labour mayors took up the problems, but it is conservatives who chalk up the jobs. Talk up the problems. Now, ourfriends at the problems. Now, ourfriends at the office for National Statistics have recently changed their mind about the size of the british economy. They had been saying we were the worst performing large european economy since the pandemic. But we werent the worst, we were one of the best. Since the pandemic, we have recovered better than france or germany. We have grown faster than both of them since we left the single market. And since 2010, we have grown faster than france, germany, italy, spain, austria, finland, The Netherlands and japan. So to all the pessimists and decline lists talking us down, we say dont bet against written, it has been tried before and it never works. Conference, it is nice to set the record straight. But rishi sunak and i care more about the future than the past. And our plan is very simple. We are going to make britain a Global Leader in the industries of the future, the worlds next silicon valley. And it is already happening. Last year, we became only the third trillion Dollar Tech Economy in the world. Our trillion Dollar Tech Economy in the world. 0urtech trillion Dollar Tech Economy in the world. Our tech sector is now double the size of germanys and three times france. The british discovered vaccines and treatments which saved 7 million lives across the world in the pandemic, more than from any other country. We do more offshore wind than anywhere in europe, we have got three huge Electric Car Factories being built, we are your� s biggest film and tv production centre. And next time, i want to see barbie wearing a unionjack because that was also filmed in britain. My Mansion House reforms are part of that because they will help Fast Growing Companies source billions of pounds of extra capital. We dontjust want billions of pounds of extra capital. We dont just want to start billions of pounds of extra capital. We dontjust want to start here, we want them to stay here, because as we become a science superpower, there is nowhere better to be. All this happens not from quick fixes, but from long term decisions. Which is what you get with rishi sunak. We conservatives know that if you get the economy right, Everything Else comes right, too. So right now, we are focused on bringing down inflation. Nothing hurts families more when it comes to the weekly shop, Heating Bills or pump prices, which is why the Prime Ministers pledged to halve it and we are getting there. It was 11 , it is now down by a0 . The plan is working and now we must see it through just as Margaret Thatcher did many years ago. Conference, when we half inflation, that is not a 1 income tax cut, it is a 5 boost to incomes compared to if it stayed the same. Butjust compared to if it stayed the same. But just as we compared to if it stayed the same. Butjust as we are succeeding, what is Labour Planning . Some £28 billion a year of new borrowing. The Institute For Fiscal Studies say borrowing on that scale risks fuelling inflation and keeping Interest Rates higher. Labour can change the fiscal rules, they can dress it up as a responsible, but if they increase borrowing, they increase debt and that means higher taxes, higher mortgages and higher inflation forfamilies. Taxes, higher mortgages and higher inflation for families. That is not an economic policy, it is an economic illusion. And it underlines the elemental choice in british politics, the choice behind all other choices. Sound money under the conservatives or run out of money under labour. Never again, conference, never again. Conservatives will always protect Public Services. But we are also honest about the taxes that pay for them. After a once in a century pandemic and the Biggest Energy crisis in a generation, the level of tax is too high. We were right to protectjobs and families, and thanks to rishis bucha skin we recovered faster from the pandemic than others. But with an ageing population and a war in europe, public spending is still growing faster than the economy. Furlough scheme. Some say that is inevitable and the Institute For Fiscal Studies last week said it is likely to be decisive and permanent shift to a higher tax economy. Conference, they are wrong. We need a more productive state, not a big estate. If we increase Public SectorProductivity Growth byjust half a percent, you can stabilise public spending as a proportion of gdp. Increase it by more and we can bring the tax burden down. Half a percent. More and we can bring the tax burden down. Halfa percent. No, more and we can bring the tax burden down. Half a percent. No, for those of us with private sector backgrounds, that doesnt seem too much, does it . In the Public Sector, im telling you, it is harder. But we are up for the challenge. So i have commissioned my Deputyjohn Glen to restart the process of Public Service reform. John wants to know why teachers say that more than half their time is spent not actually teaching. Why Police Officers complain they spend longer filling out forms and catching criminals. Why doctors and nurses say they spend up to half their time not with patients, but on admen. 0f not with patients, but on admen. Of course, we need modern Working Practices and better it. But the treasury also needs to change its focus from short term cost control to long term cost reduction. And we are going to start with the Civil Service. We have the best Civil Servants in the world and they save many lives in the pandemic and they saved many lives in the pandemic by working night and day. But even that pandemic is over, we still have 66,000 more Civil Servants than before. New policy should not always mean new people. So today, i am freezing the expansion of the Civil Service and putting in place a plan to reduce its numbers to pre pandemic levels. This will save £1 billion next year. And i wont lift that phrase until we have a proper plan notjust for the Civil Service, but for all Public Sector productivity improvements. That means, amongst other things, changing our approach to equality and Diversity Initiatives. Smashing glass ceilings is everyones job and not a box to be ticked by hiring a diversity manager. But im going to surprise you with one equality and Diversity Initiative of my own. And trust me, you will like this one. Nobody should have their bank account closed because somebody else decides they are not politically correct. We will tighten the law to stop people being debunked for the wrong political views. The lib dems are wrong to want to overturn a democratic brexit votes, but they still need cashpoint to withdraw their euros. The snp are wrong to ignore a democratic vote for the union, but they still need a bank a bank account to pay for their motorhomes and even keir starmer, who is wrong and just about everything, it needs his Trade Union Money so he can also have a bank account, just never the keys to Downing Street there is somewhere else where we need to rethink the way the state works. 0ur welfare system. Im proud to live in a country where, as churchill said, there is a ladder everyone can climb, but also a safety net below which no one falls. That safety net is paid from tax. And that social contact depends on fairness to those in work, alongside compassion to those who are not. And that means work must pay. We are making sure it does. From last year, for the first time ever, you can earn £1000 a month without paying a penny of tax or national insurance. But despite that, even when companies are struggling to find workers, around 100,000 people are leaving the Labour Market every year for a life on benefits. Mel stride gets this 100 , which is why he is replacing the Work Capability assessment. And we are going to look at the way the sanctions regime works. It isnt fair that someone who refuses to look seriously for a job gets the same as someone trying their best. Now, labour have pledged to end sanctions. Have they learned nothing . When they left office, we had more children in workless households than nearly anywhere in europe. Since then, those households are down by a million. And, conference, we are never, ever going back. So to make sure work continues to pay, today, i take a step forwards towards completing another great conservative reform, the National Living wage. Since we introduced it, nearly 2 Million People have been lifted from absolute poverty after housing costs. Not by tax credits or benefits, but by removing the barriers to work. Boosting salaries, cutting tax, making work pay. We promised in our manifesto to raise the National Living wage to two thirds of average income, ending low pay in this country. At the moment, it is £10. 42 an hour and we are waiting for the low Pay Commission to tell us next years recommendation. But i confirm today whatever that recommendation, we will increase the National Living wage to at least £11 an hour next year, that is a pay rise for 2 million workers. And the wages of the lowest paid over £9,000 higher than they were in 2010. Because if you work hard, a conservative government will always have your back. Its easy to support higher growth, better Public Services and lower taxes. Harderto better Public Services and lower taxes. Harder to make it happen. In britain today, there is only one party prepared to make those difficult decisions. 0ur party and our Prime Minister. Whose diligence and tenacity have given us a win framework, the atlantic declaration, the Transpacific Trade Deal and the nhs workforce plan. The windsor framework. Whose own life story shows just what is possible with education, aspiration and hard work. His story and our story, more growth, morejobs, more doctors, more nurses, better schools, growth, morejobs, more doctors, more nurses, betterschools, less poverty, less crime. Conference, it is time to roll up our sleeves, take on the declinists and watch the british economy prove the doubters wrong. Thank you. British economy prove the doubters wrong. Thank you. Well, that was the chancellor jeremy wrong. Thank you. Well, that was the Chancellorjeremy Hunt wrong. Thank you. Well, that was the Chancellorjeremy Hunt walking wrong. Thank you. Well, that was the Chancellorjeremy Hunt walking off i Chancellorjeremy Hunt walking off stage. Delivering his speech at the conservative Party ConferenceIn Manchester. Really saying we are going to make britain a Global Leader in the industries of the future. Talking electric cars, the Film Industries and so much more. Well, lets bring in our correspondent, our Political Correspondent, our Political Correspondent nick eardley In Manchester. Nick, a heavily previewed speech by the chancellor, is it what we expected, any surprises . Is it what we expected, any surrises . , ,. , surprises . Yes, there were bits of Oli Surprises . Yes, there were bits of policy about surprises . Yes, there were bits of policy about civil surprises . Yes, there were bits of policy about Civil Service surprises . Yes, there were bits of policy about Civil Service reform, l policy about Civil Service reform, about trying to reduce the size of the Civil Service workforce on the public purse. But yes, by and large, this was a speech where the chancellor was trying to say, we have got the economy back in a place where it is a lot healthier than it was this time last year during the conservative Party Conference where the pound had gone into freefall and there were real concerns about the impact of liz trusss government policy. He is saying, we have got this back on track, trust us to keep going. I thought it was really interesting there was a particular point of his speech where he basically said, yes, i acknowledge the level of taxation in this country is too high. He blamed covid and the war in ukraine and the impact it has had. But he also said it was easy to support lower taxes and harder to achieve. And i think although that message in his speech was directed at the labour party, it is also one that is sort of directed at many in his own party as well because as we were chatting about just before the speech started, there are a lot of conservatives here who still like liz truss and who have been at one of her rallies today hearing those calls for tax cuts immediately. So the pitch you just got from the chancellor was that under rishi sunak, the economy is in a better place, it is more stable, things are not as problematic as they were last year. Lets keep going, we will increase the size of the economy and bring tax down. As i say, it is not a message everyone here wants to hear. Someone him to go a lot further. find someone him to go a lot further. And also we heard someone him to go a lot further. And also we heard a number of different things, especially focusing on the tech sector and he really wanted to focus on these industries of the future. Do you think he got his message through and the public will be listening to this . Because of course, in the backdrop of all of this, we have an election looming. Yes, absolutely, and be under no doubt, everybody here has more than half an eye on what is going to happen next year in that general election. This is the start of the slow march towards the next general election. Look, the Financial Technology and all that sort of stuff is part of the pitch about how you grow the economy i get those new industries to invest in the uk, get the economy in a much better place, as gdp is growing, as National Output has grown, you then have more capacity to bring down taxes. That is the big pitch you are hearing from the chancellor and the Prime Minister. But it is still that question at the heart of it, conservatives have been in power in one form or another since 2010, is this really a government that is going to change things . The conservatives have been in power since 2010, so they are responsible for the highest tax rate since the second world war. And there are still a lot of tories frankly just frustrated this cant happen sooner. A lot of people will be arguing you need to make a much bolder offer to the electorate if you are going to win over voters before the next general election. Something that for the moment at least, the chancellor is resisting. The moment at least, the chancellor is resistinu. ~ the moment at least, the chancellor is resisting is resisting. Well, that is absolutely is resisting. Well, that is absolutely what is resisting. Well, that is absolutely what they is resisting. Well, that is. Absolutely what they want is resisting. Well, that is absolutely what they want to do, when over those voters. And we were saying 13 years in power, five Prime Ministers in the tories and seven chancellors. A lot that has happened. Just really briefly we had two other speeches today. Tell happened. Just really briefly we had two other speeches today. Two other speeches today. Tell us what they were two other speeches today. Tell us what they were saying. Two other speeches today. Tell us what they were saying. We two other speeches today. Tell us what they were saying. We had i two other speeches today. Tell us. What they were saying. We had the Energy Secretary and the Transport Secretary mark harper. Both trying to create wage issues with the labour party, talking about not forcing people into decisions to cost them money to achieve net zero, talking about protecting the rights of car owners. This is clearly getting a lot more political, in the run up to that election, the conservatives are trying to find thoseissues conservatives are trying to find those issues where they think they can find political capital. I wouldnt be surprised if we hear a lot more of that over the next days. Nick eardley, In Manchester, at the conservative Party Conference, thank you for your updates and your insight and analysis. You can get much more if you go to our website and our life page. Plenty more on there. But now, the weather. Good afternoon, contrasting conditions across the uk with a warm humid air hanging on towards the south. Misty, murky across parts of the south west early on today. But further north of scotland, blue sky and sunshine, also true for Northern Ireland and northern england, but we will see a few showers here at times. You can see quite nicely the boundary between those air masses, it is a warm front gradually moving northwards and eastwards across england and wales giving showery outbreaks of rain on and off through the afternoon here. Some of that rain could pep up at times, it can be heavy and thundery particularly from the East Midlands and east anglia towards the end of the day. Further north, sunshine and showers. Quite a noticeable westerly winds, really quite gusty again towards the north west of scotland. Temperature lower than yesterday, but still well above the early october average. As we head through this evening and overnight come rain in are set to continue for a time especially across eastern areas of england. We will leave cloud here into the morning, but most of the Rain Clearing into the north sea. A line of showers moving across wales further eastwards but fizzling out. Showers for Northern Ireland and Western Scotland. Clear skies towards Western Scotland, temperatures rather low, but ill start again to the day tomorrow for this time of year. As we head into tuesday, much fresher feeling this time of year. As we head into tuesday, much fresherfeeling day this time of year. As we head into tuesday, much fresher feeling day a mild start. We have lost the humidity in the south, quite breezy with a noticeably brisk winter. The day of sunshine and some showers moving eastwards. Temperatures will of course be lower. Peaking generally in the mid to high teens in celsius, but still above the average for the time of year. And then on wednesday, High Pressure starts to build in from the south so it is quite likely that towards the south, we will see a largely dry rest of the week. Not so further north, Anotherfront Rest of the week. Not so further north, another front and still some uncertainty on the detail of this will push across Northern Ireland and into North West Scotland is possibly lingering for a time and giving heavy downpours here and there, but do keep an eye on the forecast. Temperatures more or less where theyll be on tuesday so the mid to the high teens for most of us and it is looking similar again with more rain moving into Western Scotland through thursday and possibly friday. Just look at those temperatures are starting to climb again as we head into the weekend, maybe 26 Celsius On Saturday and south east england. Goodbye. Shutdown averted. Us lawmakers agree an Eleventh Hour deal to keep the government running, but at what cost . And whoosh indonesias first High Speed Railway opens today, but will it help ease the countrys Commuter Problems welcome to World Business report. Im ben thompson. 0ne story we are following for you this hour is this. The scene live if new york, this is where a Civil Fraud Trial against former President Donald Trump and his two sons will get under way, we expect a Press Conference in the hours to come, too from the new York Attorney general, you will know all of this as donald trump is expected to appear before a court, it is the opening of that Civil Fraud Trial that could potentiallile leave his Business Empire injeopardy. This was potentiallile leave his Business Empire in jeopardy. This was after a new yorkjudge ruled that donald trump was liable for business