Tugendhat says Labour ‘most venal and vindictive administration in decades’ in pitch to Tory conference – UK politics live

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Cleverly starts with apology to Tory members on behalf of MPs, saying they ‘let you down’

James Cleverly starts by asking what the purpose of the party is.

They are in opposition. But their purpose is to be in power.

We’re in politics to serve the British people and to make their lives better. It’s not our right, but it is our mission, our duty and intent.

They need to get back on track, he says.

But before we can do that, there’s something we need to say.

Sorry. Sorry on behalf of the Conservative parliamentary party who let you down.

And we have to be better, much better. And under my leadership, we will be.

Key events

Cleverly says he will revive the party’s campaigning machine.

And he says there will be “no more stitch-ups” in candidate selections.

Cleverly tells Tories they have to be ‘for stuff’ – because that is how they have always succeeded

Cleverly is now talking about what the Conservatives should do.

Conference, how are we going to face the great challenges of our time?

The way we always have done when we succeed – by being for stuff.

British science and engineering shaped the modern world. We are the country that gave the world the vaccine, twice, the steam engine, the light bulb, the World Wide Web, the bicycle, the tank, the people who split the atom. We need more …

We need to build more homes so that we can build a new generation of optimism in the tradition of Macmillan and Thatcher, we need to cut the cost of childcare so people can build a family. We need to cut red tape so we can build the energy and the transport infrastructure we need, but do so more cheaply and more quickly.

We need to build, build, build and remake the argument for Conservatism for capitalism by our actions, not just our words.

Cleverly rules out pact with Reform UK

Cleverly rules out a pact with Reform UK.

Reform didn’t deliver Brexit, we did.

Reform didn’t cut immigration, I did.

Mark my words, we will beat Reform by being the best version of our sales, not a pale version of anyone else.

So no mergers, no deals.

James Cleverly at the conference. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Cleverly recalls Conservative achievements, running from the abolition of the slave trade to equal marriage and Brexit.

Don’t let anyone trash our record. Be proud of our record.

And compare that with what we saw at the Labour Party conference just last week, a party drunk on power who lied to the British people, glasses for passes, favors for friends, swamped in scandal, and even worse, inflation busting pay rises to their union paymasters taken straight out of the pockets of British pensioners.

And what did Keir Starmer say just last week? He wants the state to have more control over your lives, a nanny state, closing pubs early, banning smoking outdoors and even trying to control the price of Oasis tickets.

He also has a good joke about the Lib Dems.

And we know the Lib Dems won’t do it. They’re too wet – and in the case of Ed Davey soaking wet.

Cleverly says his political hero is Ronald Reagan, because of his optimism.

Let’s be more like Reagan. Let’s be enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic. Let’s be more normal …

Let’s sell the benefits of conservatism with a smile.

Cleverly seems to be referencing the decision of UK Democrats to describe Trump as “weird”. There is a slight suggestion that some of opponents are a bit too harsh or extreme too.

Cleverly says he knows what it’s like to suffer setbacks in life

Cleverly says, like his parents, he is optimistic.

His life hasn’t been straightforward, he says

I grew up a mixed race kid in Lewisham now at 19.

I joined the regular army, but I got injured and I had to drop out, so I joined the Reserves and served for over 30 years in the Royal Artillery, finishing as a lieutenant colonel.

Now, I don’t pretend to be a war hero, but I did command a battery in Bristol of 100 soldiers, and one day I got the call. I got mobilized.

I thought I was going to Basra or Baghdad – and I was sent to Luton.

He says he worked in publishing for a decade, but lost his job. He set up a small business, but after the crash the made no money.

So I know what it is like to take risks, to run a small business, to work crazy hours, to put food on the table. I know what it’s like to stumble and to fall and to get up again and again and again.

Cleverly says he did not plan to run for leader.

He could have spent more time with his family, and his warhammer figures (his hobby).

But I went into politics to get things done, not watch from the sidelines, and all the more so after the defeat that we’ve just had, I need to do this for the party that I love.

Cleverly recalls his mother, who came to the UK from Sierra Leone. She did not live to become an MP, he says.

Some people love to talk our country down. But this country has given so much to so many people, including my family. Now, both my parents were in the business of optimism.

And he mentions his wife, Suzy, saying she has had treatment for cancer. Her life was saved, he says. He thanks the NHS.

Cleverly starts with apology to Tory members on behalf of MPs, saying they ‘let you down’

James Cleverly starts by asking what the purpose of the party is.

They are in opposition. But their purpose is to be in power.

We’re in politics to serve the British people and to make their lives better. It’s not our right, but it is our mission, our duty and intent.

They need to get back on track, he says.

But before we can do that, there’s something we need to say.

Sorry. Sorry on behalf of the Conservative parliamentary party who let you down.

And we have to be better, much better. And under my leadership, we will be.

James Cleverly speaks to Tory conference

They are now showing a video about James Cleverly.

It features many members and supporters speaking, including Grant Shapps and Ruth Davidson.

They stress Cleverly’s credentials as someone who can unite the party.

Tom Tugendhat Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Tugendhat is off the stage, and the podium is coming back on.

Tugendhat suggests his rivals are managers, while he is a leader

Tugendhat turns to his opponents.

My opponents claim that they’ve got more management experience around the cabinet table. Sure, that’s true, but I’m not here to manage. I’m here to lead.

The party needs change, he says. He claims he is the only person who can deliver that.

He ends:

That’s the change only I will bring.

Our mission is the prosperity and happiness of the British people and we start today.

There is enthusiastic applause.

Tugendhat says they have to give young people a chance.

We need to give young people the chance to own a home, connect that home to work and that work to growth. That’s our route back.

That’s how we win again, by remembering that Conservative principles start with a family and build to the nation, by remembering that Conservative economics help you control your own life and your own wealth, by remembering that Conservative delivery starts with a patient, and the pupil, not the faceless bureaucrat.

He says, when the Tories deliver on these three things, they win converts.

The party must win, not in 10 years or 15, but in five.

Tugendhat says he is proud of the role the armed forces played last night helping to defend Israel.

Tugendhat turns to energy security. He says Britain needs more nuclear power stations, “so we are never dependent on tyrants”.

The lesson from Germany is stark. They bet on cheap Russian energy, on fast Chinese growth, and they left their borders open.

Now none of those bets have paid off. Dictators are dictating the terms of trade once more, and that’s why we need to stand with our allies.

Tugendhat says he will curb immigration, not just with cap, but by training British workers to fill job vacancies

Tugendhat is getting more stuck into policy.

The UK has had too little growth, he says.

We can only fix the problem if we diagnose the cause, and it starts, as every Conservative knows, with our economy, real growth, not the illusion of growth that has boosted been boosted by migration and has barely shifted in the past 30 years. Now that’s left us poorer and more vulnerable.

We need a new Conservative revolution. That’s what Margaret Thatcher did.

Tugendhat says he would set a 100,000 cap on net migration.

But a cap on its own wont’ work, he says. He goes on:

This is about visas, not about foreign courts.

Let me tell you something that my opponents probably won’t this isn’t simple.

We issued the visas because businesses need the staff for our care homes and our hospitals to look after our families.

So how do we square this circle where we need to fix migration by fixing the gaps in education and skills in transport and in housing so that we can recruit at home and not abroad?

Well, we need to fix migration by fixing the gaps in education and skills in transport and in housing so that we can recruit at home and not abroad.

Now I will end the cap on apprenticeships and use the immigration skills charge to invest in further education and train our own people.

Tugendhat says higher wages are needed too.

We need higher wages, and for that, businesses need to be able to grow faster with a fantastic, skilled and healthy workforce and less regulation holding them back.

Tugendhat says he will rebuild CCHQ.

I will turn us back into being the campaign winning machine that you know we can be. My plan is to rebuild the Conservative party and to make you proud again. My mission is to win the next general election, and I have never failed a mission yet.