Unexpected, the wife of the Prime Minister, rishi sunak, in a very personal, almost touching speech about her husband, introducing him to the Party Conference and the wider electorate, and here is the Prime Minister, rishi sunak, in his first speech to Party Conference as leader and Prime Minister. Leader and Prime Minister. Thank ou. Applause thank you. Conference, thank you. Thank you. Conference, thank you. Thank you. Conference, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you for the introduction, and thank you for always being there for me, my wife, truly the best long term decision for a brighterfuture i ever made. Applause i have been blessed in my life. I have a wonderful wife and two daughters who make me proud every single day. And i was also lucky enough to grow up in the most loving of homes. My dad was a gp and my mum a pharmacist. You did need a small reminder of last summer, i know. In so many other ways i wouldnt be standing here without them. My mum and dad were my inspiration. Thank you, maam, thank you, dad. Applause like so many of us in this hall, they understood the commit importance of community and made sure i did too. They didnt believe community was some extension of government, Ratherthey Community was some extension of government, rather they understood community is sustained by individuals. By those who look out for their neighbour, treat others as they would like to be treated. They understood the fundamental importance of service. It was seeing the difference they made to peoples lives that made me want to go into politics. Now, my motherset lives that made me want to go into politics. Now, my mother set up her own pharmacy. It was a properfamily business. We all chipped in. As a teenager, i helped deliver prescriptions and do the books. I learned there the importance of being able to meet your commitments and make good on your promises. And my parents are long retired now, but the sunak pharmacy left me with a lasting respect for every small family business. This conservative party, the party of the grocers daughter and the pharmacist� s on, will always be the party of enterprise and the party of Small Business the pharmacist� s son. Applause i have been Prime Ministerfor almost a year now and we have done good things in that time. Weve made progress on our five priorities, to Halve Inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut Waiting Lists and to stop the boats. But today, i want to stop the boats. But today, i want to share with you my reflections on what i have seen and what i have learned doing this job. What i have seen and what i have learned doing thisjob. I have seen, up learned doing thisjob. I have seen, up close, the quality of our armed forces and our intelligence services. Truly the finest in the world. Applause the debt of gratitude we owe them is why we are making this the best place to be a veteran, and i know we will deliver, because we have a minister for veteran affairs sitting in cabinet. Johnny served in afghanistan. This is personalfor him. He stood with his fellow soldiers in battle and now he is ensuring that it is this conservative government making our country fit for our heroes. Applause weve backed our military with record investment, working with ben, the great defence secretary, we put the great defence secretary, we put the Defence Budget on a sustainable footing and now grant will ensure that our advanced Orca Submarine Alliance with australia and the us keeps the world safe for decades to come and create jobs keeps the world safe for decades to come and createjobs here keeps the world safe for decades to come and create jobs here at home. And from our leading role in nato, we remain the bulwark of european security. All testament to this countrys global reach and influence and our determination to take long term decisions in the national interest. By contrast, just remember that not once, but twice, labour tried to make a man Prime Minister who didnt believe in nato, who would have surrendered our Nuclear Deterrent and who blames britain for every problem. Sir keir starmer might want us to forget about his repeated support forjeremy corbyn, but we never will. You can never trust labour with our countrys security. Applause lam i am proud to say we have also led the world in providing support to ukraine. We were the first country to send western battle tanks to kyiv, and now more than ten others have followed. We were the first country to send long range weapons to kyiv, now france and the United States are followed. We were the first country to agree to train ukrainian pilots. Now more than a dozen others have followed. I say this to our allies. If we give president zelensky the tools, the ukrainians will finish the job. Applause doing thisjob, i meet and talk to inspirational men and women across our country. You see that our most potent strength, our most powerful resource, our greatest hope is our people. But what ive learned is that there is an undeniable sense that there is an undeniable sense that politics just does not work the way it should. The feeling that westminster is a broken system, and the same goes for holyrood, cardiff bay and stormont. It isnt anger, its an exhaustion with politics. In particular, politicians are saying things and then nothing of changing. And you know what . People are right. Politics doesnt work the way it should. We have had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one. 30 years of the vested interests standing in the way of change. 30 years of rhetorical ambition which achieves little more than a short term headline. And why . Because our political system is too focused on short term advantage, not long term success. Politicians spend more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it. It doesnt have to be this way. I wont be this way. Conference, our mission is to fundamentally change our country. Applause now, the labour party have set out their stall, to do and say as little as possible and hope no one notices. They want to take peoples votes for granted and keep doing politics the same old way. It is a bet on peoples apathy. It doesnt speak to any higher purpose or Brighter Future. It is about power for the sake of power. It is, in short, everything that is wrong with our politics. So if this country is to change, then it can only be us who will deliver it. Because if we do not, our growth will be stunted, more places will be left behind, and ever more of our time will be spent debating the side issues and symptoms rather than the deeper, more structural challenges we face. We wont allow this to happen. So where a consensus is false, we will challenge it. Where a vested interest is placing itself above the needs of the people, we will stop it. And where common sense is under attack from an organised assault, we will defend it. Applause today, i will set out how we will achieve this, beginning with a set of long term decisions to build a Brighter Future of long term decisions to build a brighterfuture for of long term decisions to build a Brighter Future for our children and to fundamentally change our country. And, conference, you can already see my approach in the course i charted on net zero. We conservatives love our natural world, and we are determined to be good stewards of it. In my own constituency, it is the beauty of the North York Moors on swaledale and wensleydale that makes the place home. We conservatives also value frankness and consent. We believe that politicians have a duty to treat Household Budgets with respect and that change only in jaws if we bring people with us. As you can tell by the reaction to my decision to chart a new course to net zero, it was not the easiest argument to have. But when i looked at the reality of what people were being asked to do, the thousands of pounds people would need to pay, all of that disproportionately falling on the poorest in society, by the way, and all of it not actually necessary in those time frames to meet our net zero targets, and, in spite of us doing more than any other country, i concluded it simply wasnt right. So i decided to take a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach to reaching net zero. And i wont take any lectures from other countries that have done far less than us, orfor those countries that have done far less than us, or for those for Whom Spending Thousands of pounds means nothing. Change is difficult. Particularly for those who disagree. But remember this, we will still meet our international obligations. We will still meet our domestic targets. And we will still get to net zero by 2050. We have solved a problem and offered an unapologetic defence of good, conservative common sense. Applause so as much to the country, i make this promise to all of you in this hall. As i did last summer, i will tell it as it is. I will lead in a different way. Because that is the only way to create the sort of change in our politics and country that we all desperately want to see. Now, i came into office in difficult circumstances, and i dont want to waste time debating the past, because what matters is the future. The facts are the facts. You cant borrow your way out of inflation. And if we want fundamental change in our country, we need a Strong Economy as a foundation. That is why Halving Inflation was the first and most important of the five priorities i set out at the start of the year. Everything we want to achieve requires getting inflation under control. Inflation is the biggest destroyer of all, of industry, jobs, of savings, and of society. No which puts at risk the defeat of inflation, no matter its short term attraction, can be right. Not my words, but those of margaret thatcher, as true now as they were then. Applause i know you want tax cuts. I want them to, and we will deliver them. But the best tax cut we can give people right now is to Halve Inflation and ease the cost of living. Applause and with inflation under control, our Debt Reduction will become easier. As debt falls, confidence grows, and as confidence grows, so too will our economy. We need our economy to grow faster and for people across the country to feel the benefits of that. Like other western economies, we have not grown quickly enough in recent years stop and do not let labour and the others took down our nation. We now know that we have had one of the fastest recovery from the pandemic of any major economy in europe. Applause since leaving the single market, we have grown faster than france and germany, not despite brexit, because of brexit. Applause we have the largest life sciences, Financial Services, creative and text centres in all of europe, and we have near record numbers of people with the security that a drop provides. If we want to keep growing, we have to create the conditions in which businesses can drive growth. That is exactly what we are doing. We still have the Lowest Corporation Tax rate in the g7. And thanks to the chancellors business tax cuts, we are the best place to invest in the machinery and equipment that your Business Needs to grow. Innovation drives growth in a modern economy, so we also have the most generous tax regime for research and development in the g7. And i were Brexit Freedoms make us ever more competitive. From Financial Services to clinical trials, to agriculture, we are creating a more agile regulatory system, freeing up businesses to drive the growth in our country needs. Applause the fact we control our own trade policy now is why we can be the first european country to join the £11 trillion pacific trade pact, linking us to the Fastest Growing region in the world, and opening up new Markets Forfarmers region in the world, and opening up new markets for farmers and Great British products. We have new free ports, from the Firth Of Forth to the solent, entering the benefits of on trade and investment are spread across our country entering the benefits. And thank you, kemi badenoch, for Cutting Weight brussels red tape and saving Small Businesses billions of pounds a year cutting away russells red tape. Brussels red tape. Brexit was more than a vote to leave the eu, it was a vote to change, to become something more. It was a statement of our belief that britain could begin a new story, one which reached all parts of our country and everyone in it. We must keep making the case for taking back control. If we dont, our opponents will try and neuter this change, to align us with the European Union so that we never see is the full opportunities of brexit. And we know where keir starmer� s heart lies on this issue, and we know he cannot be trusted on it either. First, he said he would respect the referendum result. Then he wanted a second referendum. Then he wanted a second referendum. Then he wanted a second referendum. Then he wanted free movement. Then he didnt. He said he wouldnt try to renegotiate our deal, then he said he would. And then just two weeks ago, he was caught on camera telling ago, he was caught on camera telling a meeting of International Politicians that he nowjust wants to follow all the eu rules. The irony is not lost on me. While we are busy thinking about the future of the united kingdom, Keir Starmer Isjust banging on of the united kingdom, keir starmer is just banging on about europe. Applause hejust cannot he just cannot know what youre going to get with him. The only thing that is certain is that it will not be what he is promising you. But the worst thing about sir keir starmer is that he just says whatever he thinks will benefit him most. It does not matter whether he can deliver it, it does not matter if it is true, does not matter if he said the opposite just a few weeks or months ago. He the working definition of the 30 year political status quo i am here to end. That is why we have to beat him. And, conference, that is why we will. Applause if we are to create change and drive growth across our country, then we must get our infrastructure right. A false consensus has taken root that all that matters are links between our big conurbations. This consensus said that our National Economic regeneration should be driven by cities, exclusion of everyone else. It said that the most important connection so cities could help us to london and not anywhere else. And it said that the only links that mattered were north to south, not east to west. What we really need, though, is better transport connections in the north. A new Network North that willjoin up great towns and cities in the north and midlands. I wanted to come here, to manchester today, to say that this will be our priority, our focus, our project. Hs2 is the ultimate example of the old consensus. The result is a project whose costs have more than doubled, which has been repeatedly delayed, and it is not scheduled to reach here in manchester for almost two decades, and for which the economic case has massively been weakened with the changes to Business Travel post covid. I say to those who have backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed, and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change is to have the courage to change direction. Applause and so i am ending this long running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the h52 saga. I am cancelling the rest of the hs2 project. And in its place. And in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and midlands, across the country. This means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our nation. Applause asa as a result of the decision we are taking today, every region outside of london will receive the same or more Government Investment than they would have done under hs2, with quicker results will stop no government has ever developed a more ambitious scheme for northern transport than our new Network North. This is the right way to drive growth and spread opportunity across our country, to level up. With our new Network North, you will be able to get from manchester to the new station in bradford in 30 minutes. Sheffield in 42 minutes. And to hull in 84 minutes on a fully electrified line. Applause there is more. We will protect the £12 billion to link up manchester and liverpool, as planned, and we will engage with local leaders on how best to deliver that scheme. We will build the Midlands Rail hub connecting 50 different stations. We will help Street Extent the West Midlands metro. We will build the leeds tram. We will electrify the north wales main line. Upgrade the a1, the a1, the a2, the a5, north wales main line. Upgrade the a1, the a1, the a2, the as, the m6. Cheering and applause there is more. There is lots more. We will connect our union with the a75, boosting links between scotland and northern ireland. We will fund the shipley bypass, the blyth relief road, and deliver 70 other road schemes. We will resurface roads across the country, we will bring back the don valley line, we will upgrade the Energy Coastline between carlisle, workington and barrow. We will build hundreds of other schemes and keep the £2 bus fare across the whole country. Applause i challenge anyone to tell me with a straight face that all of that isnt what the north really needs. 0ur our plan will drive for more growth and opportunity here in the north than a faster train to london ever would. Asjohn stephenson has long argued, east west links are more important than north south once. Given how far along construction is, we will complete the line from birmingham to euston. And, yes, hs2 trains will still run here to manchester, and Journey Times will be cut between manchester, birmingham and london by 30 minutes. I say this to andy street, a man i have huge admiration and respect for, i know we have different views on hs2, but i also know we can Work Together to ensure a faster, stronger spine, together to ensure a faster, strongerspine, quickertrains, and stronger spine, quicker trains, and more strongerspine, quickertrains, and more capacity between birmingham and manchester. Applause to the management of hs2 will no longer be responsible for the used insight. There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project. We will instead create a new Euston Development zone, Building Thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities, and a station that delivers the capacity we need. In doing so, for the first time in the life cycle of this project, we will have cut costs. Applause the £6. 5 billion of savings that mark and i are making will be taken from the used insight and given to the rest of the country. From the euston site. Now, the decision i have made and the stand i am taking will be attacked. They will say that halting it signals a lack of ambition, there will be people i respect, people in our own party who will oppose it, but there is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the wrong project. There is nothing long term about ignoring your Real Infrastructure needs so that you can spend an ever larger amount on one grand project. They will say that we have already spent so much on it that it would be embarrassing to stop. That, though, would be an absurd reason to continue, an abdication of leadership. They will say that theyre somehow a Cross Party Consensus on the project,. As i have already said, that consensus is wrong. For too long, people in westminster have invested in the transport they want, not the transport the rest of the country, particularly the north and midlands, wants and needs. Applause and to those who disagree, who will focus on what i have stopped, i ask you to consider what we have just created with Network North. An alternative which in place of one delayed and overrunning project will now begin hundreds upon hundreds of new projects large and small, road and rail, bus and train, covering the whole country that will be delivered faster, that will see every region receiving more investment than they would have done. You cannot have both. So those who wish to disagree with me, i respect that, but they should have the honesty to admit that they would now be cancelling the hundreds of alternative projects right across the country that people will benefit from instead. Conference, Ithink Our Plan is simply a better long Term Investment of £36 billion of taxpayers money. Now, we need to bring this willingness to make the right decision not the easy one to every aspect of our national life. The nhs is important to us all. It is the birthright of every person in this country. It was the nhs and social care staff who worked Night And Day to get us through the pandemic. 0ur and day to get us through the pandemic. Our commitment to the principle of an nhs free at the point of use is immovable. And this conservative government is putting record resources into our nhs and social care as well. But we conservatives know that you dont measure your affection for the nhs just by how much money you put in, but how you reforming for the challenges ahead. I know that right now waiting list for patients our patients most pressing concern and just because inns like in scotland and wales they have risen because of the pandemic, and now strikes have led to more than i the pandemic, and now strikes have led to more thani million the pandemic, and now strikes have led to more than 1 million cancelled appointments. Now this is a reasonable government. We have negotiated and reached a deals with overi million nhs workers, including nurses and hospital porters