9 bombshells from Kemi Badenoch speech

Catch up on everything you missed in our piece - 9 bombshells from Kemi Badenoch speech from Stamp Duty to Farage 'pig' jibe.

This liveblog is still here but read the full story on the speech highlights here.

Big applause as Badenoch finishes speech

Kemi Badenoch gets a long applause as she closes her speech: "This is the Britain I stand for. If it is the Britain you stand for, then stand with me and let's build it together.

Badenoch says she judges people by their 'character'

Kemi Badenoch said she stands for a society where people are "judged by the contect of their character, not the colour of their skin".

Her comments come amid a row having dominating conference relating to remarks made by Robert Jenrick. The shadow justice secretary has faced criticism after a leaked recording revealed he in March told Tories he "didn't see another white face" during a trip to Birmingham.

Mr Jenrick was accused of racism after suggesting the number of white people he saw following a 90-minute visit to Handsworth was an indication of how integrated the area was.

Read the full story here.

​Kemi Badenoch announces Tories would abolish stamp duty on homes

Kemi Badenoch announces the Tories would abolish stamp duty on homes.

When she gets a bit applause, Ms Badenoch chuckles and says: “I thought you'd like that."

“Scrapping people will benefit people of all ages, because Conservatism must speak to all generations,” she said.

'Golden rule' for the economy

The Tory leader is now speaking about her “golden rule” that half of all money saved from cuts must be put towards driving down the deficit.

The other half would go on spending or cutting taxes to boost the economy.

Kemi Badenoch gives Jenrick cringe praise

Kemi Badenoch pledges to stop police doing “pointless paperwork” and says she wants them to focus on fighting crime - including tackling fare dodgers.

In a cringeworthy moment, she then laughs heartily and shouts out to the audience: “Thank you, Rob.” She is talking to Robert Jenrick, who posted an attention-seeking video filming fare dodges at a London station earlier this year.

Ms Badenoch adds that she would stop doctors going on strike.

Other political parties are all shaking 'the same magic money tree'

The Tory leader says all the other political parties are all shaking “the same magic money tree”.

She says they are all following the same “failed playbook” - but fails to say whether this is the same one that was followed under the Tories’ dire 14 years in power.

Instead she adds: “Britain needs Conservatives back in charge.”

Ms Badenoch says she will scrap Labour’s move to apply VAT on private schools and inheritance tax on farmers’ estates, and will reverse their employment rights reforms.

Brutal 'pig' joke about Farage

Kemi Badenoch hasn’t mentioned Nigel Farage much - but when she finally does, it’s a brutal dig.

She says Reform isn’t a serious party and is making spending promises they can't deliver.

She quotes George Bernard Shaw, saying: “Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it"

Tory leader attacks Labour

Kemi Badenoch criticises Labour and says never in human history “have so many been let down by so few” - a play on words of Labour’s slogan that its party is “for the many, not the few”.

She criticises Keir Starmer for saying his best moment in office was when he first walked into Downing Street. She says “for once” she agrees with the PM, adding: “It’s been downhill ever since.”

Kemi Badenoch backs farmers

Kemi Badenoch gets a big applause as she says she is “fighting for the farmers putting food on our tables”.

“They are the backbone of our country,” she says.

Kemi Badenoch says economy is 'addicted to migration'

Kemi Badenoch says the UK economy is “addicted to migration”.

She criticises that Britain has accepted some people “with no skills at all”. And she appears to blame immigration for potholes on Britain’s roads and for Brits being unable to get a GP appointment.

She said our society is “struggling to cope” and says Britain needs a "new approach that delivers a stronger economy and stronger borders”.

“We owe that to our children,” she said.

Kemi Badenoch takes to the stage

Kemi Badenoch has taken to the stage where she has claimed only the Conservative Party “can deliver the stronger economy and stronger borders” that will give people a more prosperous country.

She gets an applause as she praises the “collective wisdom” of her MPs, peers and councillors. She praises Tory politicians across the country, including Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow, who she brands the “Reform slayer”.

She is ranting about how great the Tory Party is - and how it is “the only party that can meet the test of our generation”.

Lib Dems make pitch to fed up Tories

The Lib Dems are on the move in Manchester.

Here's a van doing the rounds outside the Tory Conference, urging centrist voters to jump ship.

Jenrick comments were hateful, says Edwina Currie

Edwina Currie, former Conservative minister, has said Robert Jenrick's "white faces" comments were hateful.

Asked whether Robert Jenrick's comments "got close to racism", she told Times Radio: "What Jenrick is saying is absolutely awful ... I think it's hateful."

And she added: "Invoking race and colour in that way is not the Tory way."

'We can still turn this around', chairman insists

The Conservative Party chairman said he expected to see an improvement in the polls following the Tory conference this week.

Kevin Hollinrake told the PA news agency: "We've always said we want to take the route of developing the policies properly."

He added: "It's right to do the hard yards, the hard work, and make sure those policies are properly deliverable before we announce them.

"That's what we've seen this week. I expect that to move the needle in terms of the polls. That's what we want to see clearly. I think those messages have been very well received this week by our members, very optimistic view of where we are today from our members and indeed the future.

"So yeah, we expect things to improve in terms of our political fortunes."

A couple of seats going spare this morning

One of the abiding sights of this conference has been the rows of empty seats in the main hall.

You'll remember a couple of days ago when Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride did his thing in front of rows and rows of spare chairs.

It's not got any better this morning.

Couple of spare seats for Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake’s speech this morning pic.twitter.com/12C9frhixh

— Dave Burke (@DaveBurke12) October 8, 2025

Keir Starmer slaps down Robert Jenrick

Keir Starmer has mocked Robert Jenrick saying the under-fire top Tory is "clearly still running his leadership campaign".

Mr Jenrick, who lost out on becoming Conservative leader to Kemi Badenoch last year, faces criticism for his complaint that he "didn't see another white face" on a trip to Birmingham.

The Shadow Justice Secretary reportedly said it was not the kind of country he wanted to live in during a visit to the Handsworth area earlier this year. Former Tory mayor Andy Street said he was "wrong" about Handsworth, while the Labour Party said his comments "cross a red line".

Asked about the comments, Mr Starmer told reporters: "It’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously - he’s clearly still running his leadership campaign.

"I think that what Andy Street said was right. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

"We’re working hard on questions of integration but we need no lessons or lectures from Robert Jenrick on any of this. He’s clearly just engaging in a leadership campaign."

Read the full story here.

'Nonsense' that economy still suffering from Truss's mini-budget

The Conservative Party chairman has tried to play down the severity of Liz Truss's spell as prime minister, on the final day of the party's conference in Manchester.

Kevin Hollinrake was asked on BBC Breakfast how the Conservatives could criticise Labour over the fiscal responsibility given Ms Truss's record.

Mr Hollinrake replied: "Liz Truss lasted about 49 days I think. I don't think it's reflective of the general economic philosophy of the Conservatives."

The brazen politician then denied the economy was still suffering from the effects of the former prime minister's policies. "That's nonsense," he told the broadcaster. "Of course, because of the Bank of England, that lasted simply months."

Badenoch has 'backbone' to fix party

Kemi Badenoch has "all the time she needs" to turn around the Conservative Party's poor poll ratings, its chairman has said.

Kevin Hollinrake told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "As far as I'm concerned, she's got all the time she needs. I don't think it will take years to change the poll ratings."

He said Ms Badenoch would "absolutely" be giving the leader's speech at next year's party conference.

"Kemi Badenoch has got the backbone to do what needs to be done with this country. She's got the strength of character. She says what she means, and means what she says," he said.

Tory Party chairman slaps down Badenoch leadership rumours

Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake slapped down rumours about Kemi Badenoch's leadership amid reports in The Times of a group of shadow ministers plotting to challenge.

Mr Hollinrake claimed such rumours were typical in politics, saying: "All these rumours often circle around political parties at all times."

Top Tory says his party was 'too soft' on Brits in government

The Conservatives were "too soft" when they were in power, the party's chairman Kevin Hollinrake has said, as he alluded to the Tory record on welfare spending.

Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Hollinrake said: "I think we did many good things in 14 years, but if I look at the things we got wrong, I think we have been too soft at times."

He said the party had not shown enough "tough love" or told people they have to be responsible for themselves.

"I think possibly through the Covid process, the cost-of-living issues we had, we threw hundreds of billions of pounds at the economy to try and save jobs and businesses, but we probably went too far.

"I think certainly in terms of the patterns of behaviour around welfare, I think too many people have left their place of work because of things like mild anxiety and depression, if you've got those kind of conditions, of course you need support, but the best place for you is work."

Robert Jenrick row has overshadowed conference

Leaked comments that revealed Robert Jenrick complained he "didn't see another white face" on a trip to Birmingham dominated the Tory conference coverage yesterday.

Under-fire Robert Jenrick lashed out at a Mirror reporter after he was challenged over the comments. The Shadow Justice Secretary tetchily retorted that it was a “stupid question” when he was asked about whether non-white Brits are as British as white people.

Elsewhere, he was accused of pushing a Trump-style plan that could mean the Supreme Court is "subservient" to powerful politicians. It came after his conference speech launched a fierce attack against judges and pledged to put ministers back in charge of judicial appointments.

Kemi Badenoch to give major speech on economy

Kemi Badenoch will give a major speech focusing on the economy at 11am today, at the close of the Tory Party conference in Manchester.

The Tories have tried to put a stronger economy and stronger borders at the centre of their agenda for the conference.

In her speech on Wednesday, she will turn to the economy, setting out a "golden rule" that half of all money saved from cuts must be put towards driving down the deficit. The other half would go on spending or cutting taxes to boost the economy.

She will claim that Chancellor Rachel Reeves' plans will see the deficit double over the next 10 years, which she will call "not sustainable" and "not fair".

"It is stealing from our children and grandchildren. And Conservatives will put a stop to it," she is expected to say.