“Rishi Sunak will vow to end 30 years of the status quo in politics as he tries to position himself as the change candidate for the next general election. In his first speech to the Conservative Party conference as leader, Mr Sunak will seek to paint Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, as the continuity choice for voters…He will say there is a “feeling that Westminster is a broken system – and the same goes for Holyrood, Cardiff Bay and Stormont”…“We’ve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one. Thirty years of vested interests standing in the way of change.”…Tory strategists believe that by taking eye-catching policy decisions that Mr Sunak believes in, based around the themes of long-termism and honesty, voters will see him as a politician determined to bring about change.” – Daily Telegraph
“Rishi Sunak will announce the scrapping of the HS2 high-speed rail line from the West Midlands to Manchester on Wednesday, the BBC understands. In his Conservative Party Conference speech, the PM is expected to set out a range of alternative projects in the north of England and Wales. He is likely to argue these projects will be better value for money and can be delivered more quickly.” – BBC
>Today: Columnist John Redwood: The business case for HS2 was always very flimsy. Now it has collapsed.
“The prime minister will also set out plans to reform A-levels by increasing the number of subjects and the number of hours pupils spend in classrooms. A-level students are taught for between 16 and 20 hours a week, compared with 26 hours in some other countries. Sunak is expected to announce plans to significantly increase time at school and widen the curriculum to include compulsory English and maths until the age of 18.” – The Times
“Suella Braverman has said politicians have been “too squeamish” to take action on immigration, in a hard-hitting Conservative conference speech. In an address to party activists, the home secretary said moving to a richer country had become a “realistic prospect” for “billions of people”. She also said a “hurricane” of migration is coming to the UK. Two MPs from a different wing of the Tory party queried her comments, with one saying they weren’t helpful.” – BBC
>Today: ToryDiary: Andrew Gimson’s Party Conference sketch: Braverman pitches for the leadership by showing she is not squeamish about immigration
>Yesterday: Video: “The choice between Conservatives and Labour is the choice between strong borders and no borders” – Braverman
“Estonia is among countries that could house British prisoners under plans to rent spare capacity abroad to tackle chronic overcrowding in jails. The government is in discussions with other European countries to rent spare prison cells, Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, said in a speech to the Conservative Party conference. He said ministers would change the law to allow prisoners sentenced in England and Wales to serve their terms overseas.” – The Times
“Over-labelling everyday problems as mental health issues is contributing to a surge in benefit claims, the work and pensions secretary has suggested. Mel Stride said that a rise in claims for mental health was central to a recent increase in long-term sickness, blaming “labelling” by society for pushing up numbers. He suggested that the modern attitude to mental health was “too readily identifying” people as suffering from conditions and pushing them towards benefits when their problems would once have been seen as having social causes.” – The Times
“Michelle Donelan issued a major crackdown on “scientifically illiterate” boffins over sex and gender. The Science Secretary warned the “guiding light” of science is under attack from the “slow creep of wokeism”.A review will take place into the use of sex and gender questions in scientific research and statistics. Ms Donelan told delegates: “Any credible scientist will tell you that gender and sex are two different things. To suggest otherwise is not only scientifically illiterate, it actually damages scientific research and statistics in everything from population studies to medicine to sport.” – The Sun
“The policing minister has urged members of the public to help tackle the epidemic in shoplifting by making citizen’s arrests when they see thieves stealing goods in supermarkets. Chris Philp also called on retailers to instruct their security guards to intervene when it is safe to do so and use the power of arrest.” – The Times
“Had Taylor Swift decided to do an impromptu gig at the Conservative Party conference? The number of people braving the wind and rain to stand outside a tent, with their noses pressed against the windows, gave the impression that a celebrity of some sort was doing a turn inside. And that is the status the Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson has at this conference. The ex-miner, ex-Labour staffer’s gift is making the audience of Conservative Party members feel good about themselves…asked about poor transport links to Bradford, he was sceptical. “Would you want to get there quicker?” he deadpanned.” – BBC
>Yesterday: Video: In conversation with Lee Anderson MP
“Senior Tories have taken aim at Sir Keir Starmer by branding him a “Marxist” and “the jellyfish of British politics”. Housing Secretary Michael Gove said the Labour leader’s changing stance on Brexit showed he was “transparent, spineless, and swept along by the tide” like the marine animal. He added a Conservative government has “never been more necessary than now” and is able to deliver the long-term changes the country needs. Mr Gove said that although the Government was on track to build one million new homes in the current parliament, “many more” homes needed to be built.” – Daily Express
>Yesterday:
“Labour has less of a problem when it comes to picking a campaign. There is a strong “time for a change” mood and they are far more likely than the Tories to be able to tap into it. Naturally, however, they are nervous of being seen as dangerous. Quite often they seem to be saying “Britain is totally broken! Let’s make sure we do nothing about it!” I see entirely why they’ve done this, but it does sound an uncertain note. Their uncertainty is reflected in a fairly odd slogan, “Let’s give Britain its future back”. And the problem isn’t just the odd use of “its” rather than “our”, as if the slogan writers lived somewhere else. It’s that it is quite backward looking. It suggests Britain was on the right track not so long ago. Presumably that means before Brexit. The idea that Britain has turned away from its future most often comes from parents complaining that their children have lost their European citizenship.” – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times