Afternoon summary
- The value of Britain’s top 100 companies came close to an all-time closing high on Tuesday as the stock market benefited from a plunge in the value of sterling. As Phillip Inman reports, the FTSE 100 closed at 7,074.34, taking it closer to the 7,104 record reached in April 2015. Shortly before closing, the FTSE came within one point of the all-time intra-day high of 7,122 but the index fell away during the closing auction. TheFTSE 250 index of more domestically focused medium-sized firms also received a boost, climbing 0.8% to an all-time closing high of 18,342.Analysts said the market reacted strongly to concerns that Theresa May would support quitting the European Union with only a rudimentary trade deal that would cost the UK growth and jobs.
- Theresa May has come under fire for suggesting foreign doctors will only be working in the NHS for an “interim period” until more UK-trained physicians are available. In an interview this afternoon she insisted that her comment had been misinterpreted. She said that it would be up to hospitals to decide who they employed, and that she wanted EU nationals to be able to stay in the UK after Brexit - provided the rights of Britons living on the continent are protected.
That’s all from me for today.
Status of EU nationals in UK is a negotiating 'card' in Brexit talks, says Fox
The uncertain status of EU nationals living in the UK is “one of our main cards” in the Brexit negotiations with the bloc, Liam Fox has said.
Speaking at Conservative party conference, the international trade secretary reiterated that no commitment would be given on the rights of two million EU citizens to remain in the UK until reciprocal rights were agreed for British citizens in Europe.
Fox, who was speaking at a fringe event, said the government would “like to be able to give a reassurance to EU nationals in the UK, but that depends on reciprocation by other countries”.
He said any other strategy “would be to hand over one of our main cards in the negotiations and doesn’t necessarily make sense at this point”.
The teaching unions were largely unimpressed by education secretary Justine Greening’s social mobility “opportunity areas” speech (see 4.53pm), which promised £60m for six deserving areas - but against a backdrop of increased academic selection.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said:
Opportunity areas are a positive idea, but they must not be used to merely mitigate the impact of greater selection.
Back in July we welcomed Justine to her post with four suggested priorities – tackle the chaos and confusion in primary assessment, introduce a fair funding formula, ensure that good and outstanding schools are not forced to become academies against their will, and make PSHE compulsory in our schools.
As the government chases yet another structural reform, we know that the real priorities in education will suffer. Grammar schools are a gamble for parents and pupils. Instead of this divisive and risky reform, we need a calm focus on the pressing issues within education.
The National Union of Teachers was equally unenthusiastic. General secretary Kevin Courtney said:
It is clear that increasing the number of selective schools will consign the majority of children to a second-tier school system. The £60m announced today does not sweeten that pill at all.
It is a drop in the ocean compared with the 8% real terms funding cuts to schools which will result in £2.5bn being removed from the education system. This extra money will not go far compared with the impacts of the worst funding crisis in decades for all schools and sixth form colleges.
Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, was more upbeat about Greening’s proposals.
There is a new geography of disadvantage in Britain - where the chances of a child doing well in life depends massively on where they come from, rather than where they aspire to get to.
The initiative by the education secretary to create opportunity areas in some of the social mobility ‘cold spots’ identified by the commission’s social mobility index is a welcome step.
We hope that local communities in these areas will work closely with the government to ensure that future progress in life depends on an individual’s aptitude and ability, not background and birth.
These are from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, who has interviewed Theresa May this afternoon.
Another key line from May, biz will be able to 'trade with and operate within the single market'....
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) October 4, 2016
3 different ministers have said privately this week that we might stay in the single market after Brexit, whatever has been said....
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) October 4, 2016
Truth is, cabinet simply doesn't yet have an agreed position on what our relationship ought to look like...
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) October 4, 2016
This is from the Ukip MEP Patrick O’Flynn, commenting on Amber Rudd’s announcement.
The number of policies Mrs May is lifting out of the UKIP GE15 manifesto is astonishing. Almost like we are in power, but not in office!
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnmep) October 4, 2016
May plays down concerns about pound falling in value after Brexit speech
Theresa May has given a series of interviews to broadcasters tonight. Speaking to Sky, she played down concerns about the pound falling in the light of her Brexit speech on Sunday. May said:
We see sterling moving in different ways at different times, but if you look overall at some of the economic data that has been coming out over the past few months, actually the data has been more positive than people were expecting.
It’s early days, of course, but I think the impression is that the response has been rather calmer to the Brexit vote than many people had predicted or thought might happen.
Villiers says government should consider compromising on free movement in Brexit talks
Anthony Browne, head of the British Banking Association told a fringe meeting that the financial services sector would continue to push for an interim agreement after the two-year Article 50 process, though he said it was accepted that a permanent Norway-style EEA deal was highly unlikely. A hard Brexit, without a trade agreement, could mean a “cliff-edge effect” where banks were suddenly no longer allowed to offer certain services.
WTO rules would be seriously detrimental to London as a financial centre, there are very few services that you can provide under WTO rules. For services it’s about the right to offer services or not.
Even if banks were to move, you can’t do it in two years, you can’t get the regulatory approval, you can’t get the office space, the IT systems. Without a transition arrangement, there’s a real risk the process becomes disorderly. I find it concerning people are going round saying ‘oh we don’t need transition arrangements - we absolutely do.
Theresa Villiers, the former Northern Ireland secretary who was a leading Leave campaigner, said she believed there was room to manoeuvre over free movement rules.
I would see a pragmatic case on compromising on free movement to secure the best deal that we can in relation to financial services and market access. I think it would be helpful if the government tries to keep that option open, free movement of people; there are a spectrum of options that would restore at least a degree of control.
There may be some scope for some compromise, but it will be quite difficult to do that and remain consistent and respectful of the result of the referendum.
Stephen Hammond MP, a former investment banker, told a fringe meeting he hoped there was “room for nuance” on the free movement debate, including distinguishing between people and labour.
There is going to have to be a pragmatic approach, but if there is going to be a hard Brexit approach which a number of people would like, I’m afraid I would be pretty pessimistic about the future.
The idea that anyone in Berlin and Rome thinks it’s all going to continue as it was, or that they want to give us a special relationship, just needs to go and talk to the central bank, the politicians, the regulators. They are clear they want to continue trading, but it is not going to be a la carte.
Hammond said he was considered about a lack of flexibility.
It is clear that normally in negotiations you are hoping to enhance your positions, it is widely accepted now by most trade negotiators, our current job is to defend our position. Potentially, there looks to be a pretty gloomy picture for our negotiating stance if we remain fixated on one idea [about immigration].
Justine Greening, the education secretary, is thought to be personally sceptical about Theresa May’s plan to create more grammar schools, but in her speech she devoted a fairly long passage to defending the plan. She said:
Grammar schools have a track record of closing the attainment gap between children on free school meals and their better off classmates.
That’s because in grammars, those children on free school meals progress twice as fast as the other children, so the gap disappears.
And 99% of grammars schools are rated good or outstanding.
But in spite of this, Labour’s approach to grammars is: close these schools down.
And it’s rank hypocrisy.
Because Labour shadow ministers send their children to grammars too.
It’s classic Labour: do as I say... not as I do.
Conservatives believe we should support parental choice, not ignore it.
Local areas who want more grammar places should be able to have them...
And similarly, local areas who want to stick...with the existing schools that they’re happy with .. will be able to do that too
And, unlike at present, we will challenge grammars and selective schools...
To work much harder at getting more disadvantaged pupils through their doors.
Greening also confirmed plans to spend £60m on schools in six “opportunity areas”, places where educational attainment is poor and where new partnerships will be formed to boost opportunities for pupils. The six areas are West Somerset, Norwich, Blackpool, Scarborough, Derby and Oldham, but the department plans to roll the scheme out to other places later.
Damian Green's speech - Analysis
Compassion is clearly the new Conservative tone on social security. “Everybody in this country values the welfare state,” said the work and pensions secretary Damian Green, “It is part of the British way of life”.
That may be news to many, including some of those in the conference hall. But Green has none of the abrasiveness of his era-defining predecessor-but-one Iain Duncan-Smith; there was no hectoring rhetoric on “welfare dependency”, no lectures on “sickness benefit culture”, or grim promises to “incentivise” the jobless by cutting their benefits.
But for all that Green has ushered in a way of talking about welfare reform, those reforms, with billions of pounds of cuts attached, are still in place. This, at least, suggests Continuity Osborne. The cuts ordered by the former chancellor are still there. Nothing Green said today suggested any material change to the broad thrust of Tory welfare strategy: the cuts to universal credit work allowances remain; nasty Cameron-era wheezes such as the benefit cap stay (though no longer warrant a mention); pensioner benefits will be protected.
The centrepiece of Green’s speech was work and disability. It’s been18 months since the Tories ambitiously promised in their 2015 election general manifesto to halve the disability employment gap, but it is still not clear how they will achieve it. Halving the gap means getting over a million more disabled and chronically ill people into a job by 2020. Ministers no longer seem to mention that figure anymore. Duncan-Smith promised a disability employment white paper in January, but his successor Stephen Crabb halted it. Green promises a green paper “soon”. Even sympathetic right-of-centre experts, such as the DWP advisor Matthew Oakley have warned that the target is “unrealistic” without major reform. Green offered no hint that this was forthcoming.
TechUK says Rudd's migration curbs could have 'chilling' impact on tech sector
TechUK, the trade association for the tech sector, says that Amber Rudd’s proposals to reduce the number foreign workers coming to the UK could have a “chilling” impact on the sector. This is from techUK’s deputy CEO, Antony Walker.
The UK is one of the leading digital economies in the world. Part of the reason is because the UK is able to attract the world’s most talented individuals to fill jobs where the UK simply does not have the domestic skills base. Making it harder for tech companies to bring in the best and brightest is not the solution and will be a lose-lose situation for everyone – growth will slow as companies find it harder to recruit, meaning lower revenue for the Treasury and fewer opportunities for workers in the UK
Research by British Future following the referendum showed that only 12% of people want to cut the number of highly skilled workers coming to Britain, with 46% saying they would be happy to see more. The public is knows the huge value of skilled immigration to the UK and the government must not choke off the UK’s access to international talent. We will be raising this point in the home secretary’s consultation as it risks chilling one of the UK’s most dynamic growth sectors.
Bright Blue, the liberal conservative thinktank, has criticised Amber Rudd’s plans to cut the number of foreign students coming to the UK. This is from its director, Ryan Shorthouse.
The government is wrong to want to reduce the number of international students coming to the UK. The public do not want to see fewer foreign students studying at our higher education institutions. The government should remove students from the net migration target.
But Shorthouse backed the plan to introduce a controlling migration fund. He sais the government should impose a tax on new migrants, in the form of an extra national insurance charge for their first two years in the UK, to pay for the fund.
Hunt says NHS will be self sufficient in doctors by 2025
In his speech Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, confirmed plans announced overnight to make the NHS “self sufficient” in doctors after Brexit. Here is the key extract.
Currently a quarter of our doctors come from overseas. They do a fantastic job and the NHS would fall over without them. When it comes to those that are EU nationals, we’ve been clear we want them to be able to stay post-Brexit.
But looking forward, is it right to carry on importing doctors from poorer countries that need them, whilst we turn away bright home graduates desperate to study medicine?
Even if we wanted to carry on importing doctors, the supply is drying up. The World Health Organisation says there’s a global shortage of over 2m doctors - we’re not the only country with an ageing population.
But we are the fifth largest economy in the world - so we should be training all the doctors we need. And today I can tell you that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
From September 2018, we will train up to 1500 more doctors every year, increasing the number of medical school places by up to a quarter.
That’s the biggest annual increase in medical student training in the history of the NHS.
Of course it will take a number of years before those students qualify, but by the end of the next parliament we will make the NHS self-sufficient in doctors.
Training a doctor costs over £200,000. So in return we will ask all new doctors to work for the NHS for four years, just as army recruits are asked to after their training.
The result will be more home grown doctors and fewer rota gaps in a safer NHS looking after you and your family for years to come.
The Green party has condemned Amber Rudd’s plans to curb immigration. This is from Jonathan Bartley, the Green party’s co-leader.
The underlying message of Amber Rudd’s ‘controlling migration fund’ is that migrants are to blame for the problems our country faces. This falsehood must be challenged head on. The truth is that the “pressures” she spoke of are not caused by migration, but by the government’s cuts and failure to invest in vital public services such as the NHS.
Indeed all of the evidence suggests that the government’s planned crackdown on free movement in Europe will mean less money being available to spend on public services.
The answer in not to penalise migrants. It is deeply concerning that the fund seems to focus on withdrawing help from migrants, despite the fact that they contribute so much to our society and our economy. We should be proud of our multicultural communities, not doing them down. It is time the government stood up for migrants instead of blaming them for its own failings.
Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, made his key conference announcement at the weekend when he said that people with the most severe health conditions who receive employment support allowance, a disability benefit, to be exempt from having to undergo regular health assessments to continue receiving payments.
But in his speech this afternoon he had some minor further announcements to make.
- Green said he wanted to beef up the new enterprise allowance scheme.
I am going to put rocket boosters under the new enterprise allowance. We will back budding entrepreneurs earlier and for longer, giving the self-employed the right support – help with financial planning and marketing, staying with them as they build their business, giving them every chance of success.
- He said he would soon publish a green paper on helping the disabled.
- He said he was making Andy Briggs, CEO of Aviva UK and Ireland Life, his business champion for older workers.
Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, has said that Amber Rudd’s promise to cut net migration levels should be taken with a pinch of salt.
It sounded like the prime minister had a heavy hand in drafting the home secretary’s speech. We’ve heard these conference promises on net migration and child migrants before and they haven’t come to anything - people will take them with a pinch of salt. On Theresa May’s watch, net migration reached record levels.
Amber Rudd is right to introduce a scheme to help communities address the pressures of migration, as Jeremy Corbyn called for last week. But she had depressingly little to say about the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war and failed to repeat the commitment to taking a share of adult refugees.
This may be the last statement Burnham makes in his capacity as shadow home secretary. He has said he is standing down, to focus on his campaign to become mayor of Greater Manchester, and he will leave the shadow cabinet in the reshuffle due later this week.
Sky’s Darren McCaffrey has been going around the Tory conference trying to see if any of the prominent Brexit campaigners, like Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom or Priti Patel, are willing to sign a cheque saying the NHS will get £350m a week after the UK leaves the EU. It was a flagship Vote Leave promise, but now no one seems willing to defend it.
Remember the £350m promised to the NHS during the #Brexit campaign? Will anyone sign @DMcCaffreySKY's cheque? https://t.co/QtJMhdS6NP
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 4, 2016
Rudd's migration crackdown 'a serious risk to our economy', says IPPR
The IPPR, a left-leaning thinktank, has said the new immigration curbs proposed by Amber Rudd would be a “serious risk to our economy”. This is from Phoebe Griffith, the IPPR’s associate director for migration, integration and communities.
It is vital that, in the wake of the Brexit vote, the government takes a smart, strategic approach to our migration system, so it is right that the government takes a careful review of our student and work routes.
But forging ahead with crude reductions in numbers would be a serious risk to our economy. International students are a core part of our education exports and there is broad public support for keeping numbers at the current level.
Moreover, the underlying data that suggests they make up a large part of net migration is dubious. If the government decides to take a tough line on students, it would harm our economy and damage our relations with trade partners abroad, such as India and China – and all on the basis of figures that could simply be wrong.
The Institute of Directors has criticised Amber Rudd for reaffirming the government’s commitment to getting net migration below 100,000 a year. In a statement Seamus Nevin, the IoD’s head of employment and skills policy, said:
It is clear that immigration will continue to be a major bone of contention between companies and this government. Businesses know that the EU referendum result means change to free movement of workers from the EU, but people were not voting to make the economy weaker. The evidence is clear that migrants are a benefit to the economy...
It was frustrating to hear the home secretary sticking to the arbitrary ‘tens of thousands’ target, which has no connection to the skills the UK needs or the actual impacts of migration. Amber Rudd all but admitted that it was an impossible target to meet, so holding herself to it can only continue to undermine trust in politicians on this issue.
At a fringe meeting Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, was asked about whether she would like to be a part of Theresa May’s cabinet and replied that she had work to do in Holyrood. But her response- saying that she would be “staying out of Her Majesty’s cabinet for some time” could be pounced upon as suggesting future Westminster ambition from the Tory’s hugely popular leader in Scotland.
She also laid into the SNP including accusing them of having “gutted” further education in Scotland to pay for university tuition fees.
Updated
As my colleague Alan Travis points out, Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s co-chief of staff, proposed tightening up on the issuing of student visas more than a year ago.
Theresa May's chief of staff floated idea of allowing Oxbridge/Russell Group overseas students right to work in UK https://t.co/Zgieo8cZBn
— Alan Travis (@alantravis40) October 4, 2016
Yet again this suggests that the blogs and articles Timothy wrote during the brief period when he was not working for May are the best guide to what the government will do next. Last month I flagged up five items in the ‘Timothy manifesto’. Since then three of them have become government policy.
The Liberal Democrats are claiming that Amber Rudd delivered a ‘nasty party’ speech. This is from Alistair Carmichael, the party’s home affairs spokesman.
Amber Rudd delivered a speech that could have been written by John Redwood. The ‘nasty party’ hasn’t come back, rather it seems it never went away. This speech is exhibit A on how the Liberal Democrats restrained the Tories. Without us they are showing their true colours: reckless, divisive and uncaring.
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, has been speaking at a fringe meeting. As my colleague Anushka Asthana reports, she has been reiterating her opposition to grammar schools for Scotland.
Ruth Davidson says "separating kids out at 11 year old" in parts of Scotland means kids who don't get in bussed to schools 40 mins away.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) October 4, 2016
She points out that grammar schools have never been in her manifestos and never will be. Praises experience of comprehensive education
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) October 4, 2016
Davidson says if debate on grammars came to Scotland it would be "huge distraction"
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) October 4, 2016
.@RuthDavidsonMSP accuses SNP of having "gutted" the further education system in Scotland to pay for he.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) October 4, 2016
Rudd announces curbs on migrants coming to UK to work or study
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, was the final person to speak before lunch. And she delivered what was probably the most policy-rich speech delivered to the conference so far.
Rudd mostly focused on immigration. She said people sent a clear message to politicians when they voted to leave the EU and she said the government was committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels. “This means tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands,” she said.
Specifically she announced plans to cut the number of people coming to the UK to work or to study. (Until the UK leaves the EU these proposals would only affect migrants from outside the EU.)
She also announced a controlling migration fund, an idea that has also been proposed by Labour.
Here are the key points.
- Rudd announced that she was setting up a new £140m controlling migration fund. Jeremy Corbyn is committed to bringing back the migration impact fund (created by Labour but scrapped by the coalition) and at the Labour conference last week he suggested it might be worth £50m over two years. Rudd said her proposal would go further.
You might have heard that Jeremy Corbyn wants the government to bring back a migration fund Gordon Brown introduced after Labour let immigration spiral out of control ...
Labour’s fund was ineffective and focused funding on migrants rather than the pressures caused by migration ...
We will deliver on our manifesto commitment and set up a new £140m controlling migration fund – designed specifically to ease the pressures on public services in areas of high migration.
And at the same time it will implement strategies to reduce illegal immigration.
The fund will build on work we have done to support local authorities …to stop giving housing benefit to people that have no right to be in the country … to reduce rough sleeping by illegal immigrants … and to crack down on the rogue landlords who house illegal migrants in the most appalling conditions.
And for those that are here legally, we will provide more English language support. And with it, the obvious benefits of being able to join the way of life in the country they have chosen to call home.
- She said she would consult on plans to make it harder for firms to bring in foreign workers. The Home Office would soon be consulting on measures to curb immigration, focusing on changes to the rules for the work and study routes, she said. On work she said she would be “examining whether we should tighten the test companies have to take before recruiting from abroad.”
British businesses have driven the economic recovery in this country, with employment at record levels.
However we still need to do more … so all British people get the opportunities they need to get on in life.
The test should ensure people coming here are filling gaps in the labour market, not taking jobs British people could do.
- She said she wanted to toughen the immigration rules for foreign students studying at low quality colleges.
We will also look for the first time at whether our student immigration rules should be tailored to the quality of the course and the quality of the educational institution.
I’m proud that we have world-leading centres of academic excellence. It’s a testament to our country’s proud history and our top universities’ ability to evolve.
But the current system allows all students, irrespective of their talents and the university’s quality, favourable employment prospects when they stop studying.
While an international student is studying here, their family members can do any form of work.
And foreign students, even those studying English Language degrees, don’t even have to be proficient in speaking English. We need to look at whether this one size fits all approach really is right for the hundreds of different universities, providing thousands of different courses across the country ...
Our consultation will ask what more can we do to support our best universities - and those that stick to the rules - to attract the best talent … while looking at tougher rules for students on lower quality courses.
- She said the government would make it easier to deport foreign criminals. EU migrants who repeatedly commit so-called minor crimes will be deported, she said.
For the first time, we will deport EU nationals that repeatedly commit so-called minor crimes in this country.
So-called minor crime is still crime – its pain is still felt deeply by victims.
Well, those criminals will face being banned from coming back to the country from between 5 and 10 years.
- She said she would soon be implementing legislation already passed to tighten controls on immigrants in the UK.
Today, I am announcing that from December, landlords that knowingly rent out property to people who have no right to be here will be committing a criminal offence. They could go to prison.
Furthermore, from December, immigration checks will be a mandatory requirement for those wanting to get a licence to drive a taxi.
And from next autumn, banks will have to do regular checks to ensure they are not providing essential banking services to illegal migrants.
- She said she would be publishing the next phase of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy later this year.
- She said she would extend the unduly lenient sentencing scheme to cover all terrorism cases heard in the crown court. This scheme allows people to ask the attorney general to look again at sentenced deemed unduly lenient.
- She said she would soon legislate to try to tackle the financing of crime and terrorism.
It is an obvious point – but financial profit is the principal driver for almost all serious and organised crime.
Our new legislation will give new powers to law enforcement agencies to track the criminals involved down … criminals who are laundering something in the region $1.6 trillion globally, every year.
Updated
Here is Boris Johnson out running in Birmingham this morning.
UPDATE: Johnson was running with the Sun editor, Tony Gallagher, who is in front in the picture.
@tonygallagher did you train for that run? pic.twitter.com/u025vkdHkg
— Murray Foote (@murrayf00te) October 4, 2016
@murrayf00te No idea who that strange blond bloke is in my wake
— Tony Gallagher (@tonygallagher) October 4, 2016
Updated
Liz Truss's speech - Summary
Liz Truss, the justice secretary, spoke after Michael Fallon. Here are the key points from her speech.
- Truss confirmed that she would bring forward legislation for prisons reform. A prisons bill was included in the Queen’s speech, but in evidence to a select committee last month Truss was unable to confirm that legislation would be introduced. Today she said she would press ahead with the reform programme outlined by her predecessor, Michael Gove, whom she praised. She said:
In the coming weeks I will be launching my vision for prison reform to 2020 and beyond.
This white paper will be a blueprint for the biggest overhaul of our prisons in a generation and we will legislate for these reforms early next year.
The reforms will focus on rehabilitation, she said.
Prisoners are often the most damaging people in society but they are also often the most damaged.
More than half can’t read or write to a basic standard, half have mental health problems and nearly two thirds of women offenders are victims of abuse.
Reform is the only way to break the cycle, to cut the cost to society and to spare more people the misery of being a victim of crime.
- She said she would be giving prison staff more time to directly supervise offenders. “This one-to-one support, which will be rolled out to every prison, is vital in bringing down levels of violence and reforming offenders,” she said.
- She called for more diversity on the supreme court and at the top of the legal profession generally.
The supreme court is a vital part of our constitution and I cherish its independence.
But can it be right that out of 12 judges in the supreme court only one is a woman and not a single one is from an ethnic minority? This would be difficult to justify in any boardroom or around the cabinet table.
- She said the government was still committed to a British bill of rights, but gave no details about when it would appear.
Updated
Michael Fallon's speech - Summary
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, finished his speech to the conference a few minutes ago. Here are the key points.
It is right that we investigate serious allegations but we’ve seen our legal system abused to falsely accuse our armed forces.
So we’re taking action.
Of more than three thousand claims about half have already been discontinued – and another thousand further cases will be thrown out by January.
Already one of the firms that filed thousands of these claims, the so-called ‘Public Interest Lawyers’ – has had its legal aid contract terminated and shut down in August.
It won’t be missed.
So we are working hard to get vexatious claims thrown out.
And we are taking action to draw up a new time limit for bringing claims and to tackle no win no fee deals.
But much of the litigation we face comes from the extension of the European convention on human rights to the battlefield.
This is damaging our troops, undermining military operations, and costing taxpayers’ millions.
So I can announce today that in future conflicts we intend to derogate from the convention.
That would protect our armed forces from many of the industrial scale claims we have seen post Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now this isn’t about putting our Armed Forces above the criminal law or the Geneva conventions.
Serious claims will be investigated - but spurious claims will be stopped.
- He said he wanted 10% of military recruits to be black or minority ethnic by 2020. He also wanted more female recruits, he said.
I want more recruits from ethnic minorities and more women.
So I’ve challenged the service chiefs to get at least 10% of our new recruits from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background by 2020.
And I’ve opened up all combat roles to women so ability, not gender, defines how far you can go.
This isn’t about tokenism; it’s about talent.
- He said he would tomorrow mark the start of work building the new successor Trident submarines.
- He said the armed forces could be “a remarkable engine of social mobility”.
Armed Forces that can be a remarkable engine of social mobility.
Look at Cadet, now Lieutenant, Kidane Cousland.
The school system failed Kidane.
He left a Tottenham estate with a few GCSEs but the Army turned him into the best officer graduating this year at Sandhurst.
- He said he was announcing new cadet units in state schools.
Look at the young cadets who learn the skills and confidence they need to thrive.
Today I am announcing the first 25 of 150 new units we are creating in state schools.
They include one at Rockwood Academy – in this city - which I will be visiting this afternoon…
….a phoenix from the ashes of a ‘Trojan Horse’ school that is now instilling British values, instead of promoting religious segregation.
Here is Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, responding to what Theresa May said about Brexit this morning. (See 10.32am.)
Theresa May this morning spoke about ‘bumps in the road’. These ‘bumps’ as she blithely calls them, are people’s jobs and livelihoods. She seems as out of touch as her ministers.
Her senior ministers seem to be unfazed when business leaders warn them, to their face, that 75,000 jobs in the City alone could be lost due to a Hard Brexit. The Conservative party are showing their true colours: reckless, divisive and uncaring. They are prepared to risk our future prosperity for their own short-term gain.
In his speech to the conference David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, criticised the SNP for putting the union at risk.
Now the new powers [for the Scottish parliament] are a huge opportunity for the Scottish government.
But so far the SNP have put their obsession with independence above all else.
They’ve abandoned the day job – and Scotland is paying the price.
They spend their time doom-mongering about Brexit and using it as an excuse to threaten a second independence referendum.
That is not what the people of Scotland want. It is a Sword of Damocles – the single biggest threat to Scotland’s economy.
Alan Roden, director of communications for Scottish Labour, has accused Mundell of hypocrisy.
The absolute cheek of David Mundell. The Tories are the only reason the Union is in peril again. #con16
— Alan Roden (@AlanRoden) October 4, 2016
According to a Bloomberg report, the City will not get special treatment when the government negotiates Brexit. Here’s an extract.
British financial-services companies will get no special favors in Brexit negotiations from Prime Minister Theresa May, who wants to change the relationship between the government and the City of London.
According to three senior figures in May’s administration, the government will refuse to prioritize the protection of the sector after the U.K. has left the European Union. Her team has also dismissed the key business demand for an interim deal with the EU to help ease the transition out of the bloc, one of the people said. All asked not to be named because the information is sensitive.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, has taken to Twitter this morning to criticise Theresa May for not showing more respect to foreign doctors working in the NHS.
The arrogance of this from UKG is breathtaking...like they're somehow doing these doctors a favour by 'allowing' them to save lives here. https://t.co/oUnOiEkRfG
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 4, 2016
In the conference hall James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary, has just delivered his speech. He said that he wanted to ensure that Brexit does not result in a solid border going up between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
We will work to ensure that Northern Ireland’s unique interests are protected and advanced.
That’s particularly the case when it comes to the land border with the Republic of Ireland and the Common Travel Area which has served the UK and Ireland well for many decades.
No-one wants to see a return to the borders of the past.
But Brokenshire did not say anything about who this could be achieved. As my colleague Patrick Wintour reports, the Irish government is increasingly worried about this, not least because of the Tory speeches in Birmingham making it increasingly clear that the UK will not remain a member of the single market.
Here is Jon Ashworth, the shadow minister without portfolio, responding for Labour to what Theresa May said about Brexit this morning. (See 10.32am.)
It’s increasingly clear that Theresa May is steering us down the road of hard Brexit despite having no idea where it leads. The ‘bumps in the road’ she talks about are real threats to our economy, yet she’s recklessly ploughing on, putting jobs and prosperity at risk.
We desperately need a plan which delivers for working people, but the Tories have no answer to the challenges facing us. With Theresa May at the wheel the Tories are driving us into trouble.
May says Britain faces 'bumps in the road' as it leaves the EU
And here are three lines from Theresa May’s morning interviews on Brexit that are worth reporting.
- May said Britain faced “bumps in the road” as it left the EU.
It’s not going to be plain sailing. There will be some bumps in the road as we go through this process. The economic data that we have seen so far over the past few weeks has been more positive than people were expecting. It is early data, of course. But it has been more positive than people were expecting.
And I recognise the concern that business has to want to see a smooth process as we go through these negotiations and transition to coming out of the European Union and I want to ensure that we are listening to business, which we are doing.
- She said the Conservatives were the only party that accepted the Brexit result and would implement it.
We are the only major party that is actually listening to people and is willing to deliver on the verdict people gave in June and we are going to make a really good deal, we are going to make a success of this.
This is arguable. The Lib Dems are committed to holding a second referendum, on the final Brexit deal, and Tim Farron has said he would argue for Britain to stay in the EU. Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour should accept the result of the referendum. But some in the party favour a second referendum, and Owen Smith specifically said during the Labour leadership contest that he would like the UK to remain in the EU.
- She said she was not thinking in terms of which bits of the EU Britain might “keep”. Asked about what Brexit would be like, she replied:
I’m going to be ambitious as we go into discussions with the European Union. I made a speech about this on Sunday, but I think the way we approach this is very important. A lot of people talk in a way which suggests that we should be approaching this as saying ‘well we’ve been members of the EU, when we come out what bits of membership can we keep’.
Actually I think we need to have a different approach, which is when we come out of the European Union we’ll be an independent, sovereign country. What relationship do we want with the EU? Now, I want that relationship to be the best possible, the right deal for the UK, and the best possible deal in terms of trade with the EU. I want British businesses to be able to trade with the EU and operate within the EU and EU businesses to be able to operate here in the UK. I think that makes sense for both sides of the argument. I think it’s not about the UK in some sense being a supplicant to the EU. It’s about the reciprocity here, [a] good trade deal is going to be of benefit to us and the EU.
6 things we did not learn from May's morning interviews
And here are six things we did not learn from Theresa May’s morning interviews.
1 - What Theresa May thinks about the pound falling in value on the back of her Brexit speech on Sunday. We did not find out because (unless I missed it) she was not asked about this (although, if she had been asked, she probably would not have replied, because politicians tend not to respond to currency fluctuations.)
2 - Whether May is opposed to cutting inheritance tax. The Tories went into the 2015 pledged to cut inheritance tax and a cut was included in the summer budget last year. On the Today programme Nick Robinson asked whether, in the light of her desire to help people on average incomes (who do not benefit from this cut), she would reverse it. May ignored the question. She also dodged questions from Robinson about whether she favoured building more council homes, or putting up public sector pay. (May probably does think the inheritance tax cut was a bad idea. Nick Timothy, her highly-influential co-chief of staff, has strongly criticised it in the past.)
3 - When May thinks net migration will be cut below 100,000. May said she was still committed to this as a target, but she refused to say when it would be met. (See 7.53am.)
4 - Whether May has changed her mind about Brexit. May was asked at least twice whether she stood by the arguments she was making in the EU referendum campaign about why Brexit would be a bad idea, or whether she had now changed her thinking. May did not answer directly, although she did say that she had always argued that the sky would not fall in if Britain did leave the EU. She was now focused on the future, she said. (See 7.50am.)
5 - What she thinks about Donald Trump. On Good Morning Britain Piers Morgan reminded her that she had criticised Trump for proposing a ban on Muslims entering the US. May said that was a comment about a specific policy. She refused to say who she wanted to win the US presidential election.
6 - What she regrets. Pointing out that she has just turned 60, Morgan asked her if she had any regrets. May replied:
Piers, do you think I’m going to tell you those on Good Morning Britain. Nice try Piers I think is the answer to that one.
6 things we've learnt from Theresa May's morning interviews
Some of the journalists responding to Theresa May’s interviews on Twitter have been pointing out how guarded she was. I’m accustomed to posting about the ‘things we’ve learnt’ from events like this, but this morning I will do a post about all the things we did not learn from May’s media round.
But it wasn’t entirely unproductive. We did get something out of it. Here are six things about May that we did find out.
1 - May says injustice makes her angry. At the end of his Today interview Nick Robinson asked May what made her argument, saying that this was a question that often revealed what motivated people to go into politics. May did not have to think for long before giving a firm answer.
Injustice. What makes me angry? Child sexual abuse. Modern slavery. When we see the powerful abusing their position. That’s what makes me angry.
It would be wrong to say that she was fired up with emotion, but she did answer the question with a sincerity and directness that was lacking from her earlier answers. And it is not an answer that David Cameron would have given, at least not with the same level of conviction. Later, on LBC, May was also quite forceful when she explained that she was committed to the child abuse inquiry because she thought some victims had been denied justice for years. (See 8.35am.)
2 - May is happy to be seen as a “bloody difficult woman”. (See 8.44am.)
3 - May does not mind the media going on about her shoes. On ITV’s Good Morning Britain Susanna Reid asked May if she thought the obsession with her shoes was sexist. May said she did not object.
Well, it is interesting that people focus on my shoes. I don’t think they focus on Philip Hammond’s or Boris Johnson’s in quite the same way. But, look, do I regret that fact that people look at my shoes? Hey, it gives me an excuse to go and buy new shoes.
4 - May seems to be playing down her commitment to building new grammar schools. She was asked about the policy in various interviews and, although she did not go back on anything previously announced, it was noticeable that she was keen to stress that the policy she is proposing is about much more than building grammar schools. She described the policy in terms of lifting the ban on selection, and said it was only one aspect of a plan to create more good school places. (Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary, has suggested in a BuzzFeed interview that she thinks the government is about to compromise on its plans.)
5 - May can make a good impression on interviewers. At the end of the Good Morning Britain interview Piers Morgan, the presenter, said: “She’s a nice lady, Theresa May.” His co-presenter, Susanna Reid, added: “She’s very open and honest.” It is not the sort of thing John Humphrys would ever say on the Today programme, but it is interesting. I don’t recall Morgan and Reid making comments like that about David Cameron. And at the end of his Sky interview, Eamonn Holmes told her he was leaving the show, before adding: “I would like to thank you for all your courtesy through the years, putting up with my banal, inane questioning.”
6 - May may not commit to “hard” over “soft” regarding Brexit, but she does for cooking. On Good Morning Britain Morgan asked about cooking scones (May is keen on cooking, and the Sunday Times published a recipe for scones from her at the weekend) and he said she had caused a stir by saying people could use either butter or margarine. Was butter better, he asked. And should it be hard or soft? May replied:
Well, you have to rub it in with the flour, and it is often easier actually if it is hard, you can get a good rub in. If it is too soft, then it starts to become a bit claggy.
Theresa May vows to be "ambitious" in Brexit talks. "I think it's not about the UK being a supplicant to the EU." #r4today pic.twitter.com/UxwRNPClIZ
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) October 4, 2016
Here is some comment from journalists on Theresa May’s interviews.
From ITV’s Robert Peston
.@theresa_may is an absolute genius at interviews that tell you less about her and her policies than you thought you knew already
— Robert Peston (@Peston) October 4, 2016
From the Guardian’s Peter Walker
With best will in the world, pretty much all Theresa May's R4 answers on Brexit were meaningless platitudes. Which was, of course, the plan
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 4, 2016
From the Guardian’s Alan Travis
Theresa May says that what she really cares about is tackling child sexual exploitation and modern slavery. She should be home secretary?
— Alan Travis (@alantravis40) October 4, 2016
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
Striking thing about May's Today interview was how upbeat she was determined to sound. Her voice was much more lively than usual
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) October 4, 2016
Updated
Here is more on what is happening in the City this morning. This is from the BBC’s Allie Hodgkins-Brown.
The FTSE 100 share index has risen above 7,000 for the first time since May 2015 after sterling falls to a new 31-yr low against the dollar.
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) October 4, 2016
Pound hits 31-year low against dollar as City worried about Brexit
The pound has hit a new 31-year low against the US dollar, as Brexit worries continue to grip the financial markets.
Sterling shed 0.5% in early trading in London, on top of yesterday’s losses, dropping to $1.2778.
That’s its lowest level since June 1985, and almost 15% weaker than before the EU referendum on 23 June.The pound has also hit a new three-year low against the euro, at 87.51p.
Traders are blaming Theresa May’s decision to trigger article 50 by the end of March 2017.
“The Tory party conference is turning into a sell for the pound, as FX traders get spooked by May’s apparent sanguine attitude to leaving the single market, preferring to focus on immigration and UK sovereignty rather than the economic fallout of Brexit,” says Kathleen Brooks, research director at FOREX.com and City Index.
Our business liveblog has more details.
May says she is happy to be seen as a 'bloody difficult woman'
The LBC interview may be the final one that Theresa May is doing this morning. And, right at the end, May came out with what may be the best quote she has given all morning.
It came when Nick Ferrari asked if she was happy to be described by Kenneth Clarke, the Tory former cabinet minister, as a “bloody woman”.
May corrected him. She told Ferrari:
Actually what he said, and I don’t normally swear, was I was a “bloody difficult woman”.
And was that accurate? May, who as home secretary clashed with Clarke when he as justice secretary in the early years of the coalition government, replied:
Well, you know, Ken and I had our interesting debates in the past, and I stand by, doing what I believe to be the right thing. And if standing up for what you believe to be right is being “bloody difficult”, then so be it.
Updated
Q: How are we going to get the child abuse inquiry back on track? Is it too broad?
No, says May. She says the inquiry is looking at different areas, like the Catholic church and care homes. But we need to learn the lessons overall. So it is important the inquiry has a broad reach, she says.
Q: But justice delayed is justice denied.
May says some of these people have been waiting for decades
Q: When Ken Clarke describes you as a “bloody woman”, how did you react.
May says he described her as a “bloody difficult woman”. If that means standing up for what you believe in, she is happy to be described like that, she says.
And that’s it.
May's LBC interview
Theresa May is now on LBC. Nick Ferrari is interviewing her.
Q: Is it really right to stick with HS2? Is it a vanity project?
No, says May. She says HS2 will be an important infrastructure project. From London to Birmingham will take just over half an hour.
Q: Why can’t people get up half an hour earlier?
May says it is not about that. It is about better connectivity. At the conference they are talking about a country that works for everyone.
Updated
Q: What makes you angry?
Injustice, says May. Child sexual abuse. Modern slavery, she goes on.
When we see the powerful abusing their position.
And that’s it.
Q: Will it be possible to get net migration below 100,000 by the time of the next election?
May says she will be working to get net migration down. But there is not a single measure you can take to get all the numbers down.
Q: Your ministers say we need to keep EU workers coming. Sajid Javid the other day said EU builders would continue to come.
May says today’s NHS announcement shows how the number of EU workers coming to the UK can come down.
Q: You said in April we risked a loss of investment if we left the EU, and going backwards in trade. Is that still the case?
May says she has spoken to many businesses. She wants to ensure investment continues.
Business is now focusing on coming together and grasping the opportunities.
Q: In April you said we would have to make concessions to get access to the single market, like accepting regulations, or making payments, or accepting free movement. Do you still think that?
May says she is going to be ambitious. The way the UK approaches this is important. People are looking at this as if we have been members, and we decide what bits of EU membership we keep. She says we will be out of the EU. We should then decide what relationship we want.
This is not about the UK being a “supplicant”, she says. This is about “reciprocity.”
Q: You said before the referendum the case for staying in the EU was strong. Have you changed your mind?
May says that was in the past.
Q: Have you reassessed your view? Or are you just making the best of a bad job?
May says the Conservative party will respect the decision people took in the referendum.
Life will be different in the future. She wants to make it a success, she says.
Q: What is the evidence that grammars are good for people from ordinary backgrounds?
May says grammar schools are good schools. And poorer children do better in them. The attainment gap (the gap between how rich and poor pupils achieve) is virtually zero.
Q: Kent has the highest number of underperforming schools in England, and it has grammar schools. So it is not a good system for most children.
May says she wants to take various measures to increase the number of good school places. Independent schools will sponsor state schools, and faith schools will expand. And she says she thinks it is wrong selective schools cannot expand.
Q: You talked in your grammar speech about wanting to help people earning around £19,000, £20,000, £21,000. You have cut inheritance tax for rich people. Would you change that?
May says she will make changes that will really help working people.
Q: But not that one?
May sidesteps the question and presses on. She wants to increase the number of good school places, she says.
Q: What about a big council house building programme? A pay rise for public sector workers?
May says there are many ways in which you can help working families.
She will build on what Cameron’s government achieved.
May's Today interview
Theresa May is on the Today programme now. Nick Robinson is interviewing her.
Q: Your cousin told me the other day that he remembers you as a teenager saying you wanted to be prime minster.
May says she does not remember that. But she does remember wanting to be an MP. She wanted to make a difference to people.
Q: You said when you became prime minister you wanted to help ordinary working people. Who did you have in mind?
May says the Brexit vote was partly a protest from people who felt the system did not work for them. People may be in jobs, but do not feel as if they have job security.
Updated
Q: The BMA says doctors are demoralised and exhausted, and that today’s announcement will not help.
May says today’s announcement is important. More people will be able to train as a doctor in the UK. And it will lead to more British doctors in the NHS.
Q: Does it matter where the doctors come from?
May says some hospitals have to spent a lot of money bringing in doctors from abroad.
And that’s the Radio 5 Live interview over.
Q: Do you think you have misjudged the mood on grammar schools. The teaching unions do not like it, Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Ofsted chief, is opposed, and in Kent they have a high number of failing schools.
May says she wants to increase the number of good school places.
Q: That means grammar schools?
May says the policy is about more than grammar schools. She wants to increase the capacity in the system. She does want to lift the rule saying grammar schools cannot expand. That is important.
Q: Are you still committed to net migration down to below 100,000?
May says the policy has not been watered down. She still wants to get net migration down to sustainable levels. That means the tens of thousands.
Leaving the EU will allow the UK to have control over immigration.
Q: So when might we meet this target?
May says she has always made the point that you need to be constantly looking at this issue, and constantly closing loopholes. And the government will look at immigration from outside the EU too.
Q: Why can’t you say when you will meet this target?
May says people did want control. She will bring control. The British government will then decide what the rules will be.
May's Radio 5 Live interview
Theresa May is on Radio 5 Live now.
Q: Before the referendum you were against Brexit. Do you now think we are better off leaving the EU, with you in charge, than if we had stayed?
May says she gave a speech in the campaign saying it was a balanced judgement. She said she thought it was best to stay in the EU. But she also said the sky would not fall in if we left.
That is in the past, she says. Now we are united in leaving, she says.
She wants to open up new trading opportunities.
It is right to be positive about what we can do in the future.
Q: You said in April there was a risk of going backwards in terms of trade if we left. Do you still think that?
May says she has met with businesses, here and in the US. People think the British people have given their verdict. Businesses want to see what the opportunities are. There is a “constructive feeling” around, she says.
Updated
May's BBC News interview
Theresa May is on BBC News now.
Q: You say your government will help people just about managing. What can you do to help them?
May says one example is that she wants to create more good school places.
Q: What surprised you most about the job of prime minister?
May says she is asked to do a lot more selfies.
Q: And what is your reaction?
May says she does some of them, but she cannot do all of them.
Q: How do you unwind?
Cooking, walking, May says. But she does not get as much time as she used to. She likes cooking, and her husband likes her food.
Q: Does he really?
Yes, says May.
And that one’s over
Updated
Theresa May is giving a series of media interviews this morning. She has already been on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Sky, and one of the most striking quotes was this one.
"Too soft then it's going to be a bit claggy"
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) October 4, 2016
TMay to @piersmorgan on type of Brexit she wants?
Sadly no: type of butter for making scones.
May was responding to a question about the sort of butter needed when baking scones, but it does seem to sum up her attitude to Brexit too.
I will post more from the interviews soon.
It is never hard to think of questions to ask the prime minister, but the Tories have ensured that two topics are dominating May’s interviews. They both feature very prominently on today’s front pages.
First, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has unveiled plans to make the NHS in England “self sufficient” in doctors. This makes the splash for the Guardian and the Daily Express.
Tuesday's Guardian:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 3, 2016
Hunt promises to end NHS reliance on overseas doctors#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/TPcwba2kz5
Tuesday's Daily Express front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 3, 2016
We'll get more British doctors#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/vdtr9R4d6g
Here is the Guardian’s version of the story.
Second, May has announced plans for the military to opt out from the European convention on human rights (ECHR) during future conflicts to obstruct what she describes as an “industry of vexatious claims” against soldiers. This is particularly popular with the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, which have both campaigned on this issue.
Tuesday's Daily Mail front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 3, 2016
Soldiers' victory over legal vultures#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/55ib4KSUu6
Tuesday's Daily Telegraph front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 3, 2016
Battlefield justice for our troops#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/XgmfS6IeVC
Here is the conference agenda for the day.
8.10am: Theresa May is interviewed on Today.
10.30am: A session on the union, with speeches from Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh assembly, Alun Cairns, the Welsh secretary, David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, and James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary. (Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is speaking at the conference tomorrow.)
11am: A home affairs session, with speeches from Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, Liz Truss, the justice secretary, and Amber Rudd, the home affairs secretary.
2.30pm: A welfare session, with speeches from Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary and Justine Greening, the education secretary.
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