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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

PM's speech to Tory conference: 'we will take centre ground' - as it happened

Theresa May’s speech to Tory conference: ‘Change has got to come’

We’re wrapping up this live blog now. Here’s the latest reads and reactions from the last day of the Conservative party conference.

Thanks for reading.

Updated

The theme of May’s speech – and the headlines on all the major news websites – was the refrain “a change is gonna come”.

The phrase is familiar from the civil rights anthem by Sam Cooke.

I was born by the river in a little tent

Oh and just like the river I’ve been running ev’r since

It’s been a long time, a long time coming

But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

The first is not the most accurate description of Theresa May’s upbringing in the vicarage, but the second two lines are more poignant for the political landscape. May used the phrase “change is going to come” eight times in the speech.

“Great changes can occur. And be in no doubt, that’s what Britain needs today. Because in June people voted for change. And a change is going to come,” she said.

Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come

Updated

May devoted a few minutes of her speech to praising the Brownlee brothers, the triathletes who won Olympic medals at the Rio Olympics. It was the brothers’ latest race, in Mexico, where Jonny Brownlee was helped over the line by his brother, which really inspired the PM.

Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, right, helps his brother Jonny to get to the finish line during the Triathlon World Series event in Cozumel Mexico
Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, right, helps his brother Jonny to get to the finish line during the Triathlon World Series event in Cozumel Mexico Photograph: Delly Carr/AP

Seeing his brother’s struggle, he didn’t pass on by. As other competitors ran past, he stopped. Reached out his hand. And gently carried him home.

And there in that moment, we saw revealed an essential truth. That we succeed or fail together. We achieve together or fall short together.

And when one among us falters, our most basic human instinct is to put our own self-interest aside, to reach out our hand and help them over the line.

That’s why the central tenet of my belief is that there is more to life than individualism and self-interest.

This would normally be the point where the celebrity or athlete mentioned in a politician’s speech pops up to say they support a different party, but May’s speechwriters have done their homework this time. The Brownlee brothers are true blue.

In an 2012 interview with the Guardian, the brothers reveal they voted for Cameron in the 2010 election.

Did they vote in the last election? Jonny “Er, yeah … errrr, I think I voted Conservative.”

Alistair: “I’m a Conservative. I don’t believe there should be too many rules. There should be lower taxes.”

Updated

David Allen Green, the barrister and legal commentator, has this to say on May’s attack on “activist, leftwing human rights lawyers”.

And this is from Oliver Lewis, human rights barrister at Doughty Street chambers.

Adam Wagner, human rights barrister and the founder of the RightsInfo blog, has this handy reminder too.

Updated

Winners and losers

What can we glean from May’s speech about who she will prioritise and what is in her line of fire? Here’s the most obvious winners and losers.

Winners

British workers

May promised her government would be on the side of British workers, ruling out a bonfire of employment rights post-Brexit, reiterating her leadership race commitment to putting employees on company boards and attacking company bosses who “earn a fortune but don’t look after your staff.”

Rural Britain

Broadband is a priority which May mentioned in her speech, and one her spokeswoman said had been discussed in cabinet meetings and committees. It’s in rural, and traditionally Tort, areas where connectivity is poorest and expect to see some concrete new policy on this in coming weeks and months.

BT Openreach engineers working on a broadband internet fibre cabinet in the street.
BT Openreach engineers working on a broadband internet fibre cabinet in the street. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Savers

May said it was clear current low interest rates were not working for everyone, and there were gentle hints that the government may be preparing to rethink quantitive easing, a policy that would be attractive to savers. May said though QE had been good after the financial crash, the government would “acknowledge there have been some bad side effects.” Monetary policy like this however, is really the domain of the Bank of England.

Losers

Foreign workers

May has made it clear she wants to prioritise voter concerns about immigration in her Brexit negotiations. Her speech will have unnerved many overseas workers, including doctors, whom the Prime Minister suggested may only be allowed to stay in the UK for a limited period. Firms have already started a huge backlash against a proposal floated by Amber Rudd to make companies list the number of foreign workers they employ.

Green Party banners during the Refugees Welcome march.
Green Party banners during the Refugees Welcome march. Photograph: Sophie Baggott/REX/Shutterstock

Energy companies
May strongly hinted she wanted to tackle high energy bills, without a firm proposal. But her words about energy companies have been seized on as potentially a move towards Ed Miliband-style energy price caps. Her official spokeswoman did not rule out even tougher action, but said firmer policy announcements would follow.

Human rights lawyers
One of the biggest cheers in the hall came as May attacked “activist, left-wing human rights lawyers.” The focus of her anger was abuse claims against British troops, which defence secretary Michael Fallon had announced earlier would be protected against claims arising from the ECHR for future conflicts.

Tax avoiders

Nothing concrete yet, but May has seized on another Labour soundbite, it’s patriotic to pay your taxes. “Whoever you are you – however rich or powerful – you have a duty to pay your tax. And we’re going to make sure you do,” she said. Exactly how she will remains to be seen.

Updated

Here are three more blogs on Theresa May’s speech that are worth reading:

Jeremy Corbyn is right about the economy: the game is rigged in favour of the rich and business is screwing you. So vote Conservative.

Nigel Farage is right about immigration: foreigners are taking your jobs and making you poorer. So vote Conservative.

That’s my condensed summary of Theresa May’s fascinating speech to the Conservative party conference.

May’s framing of the Tories as “the workers’ party” was one attempted by Cameron. But her predecessor’s class and ideological incoherency (banal Thatcherism, shire Toryism, modish liberalism) made his performance far less persuasive. May’s palpable sincerity and conviction are her greatest strengths.

That’s all from me, Andrew Sparrow, for the day. A colleague will be taking over for the rest of the day.

Updated

This is from the New Statesman’s George Eaton.

And here is Tom Baldwin, Ed Miliband’s former communications chief, responding to Jonathan Freedland’s point about how much Theresa May borrowed from Miliband. (See 3.21pm.)

Here is the panel verdict on Theresa May’s speech from Guardian comment, with contributions from Jonathan Freedland, Polly Toynbee, Anne McElvoy, Giles Fraser and Joseph Harker.

And here is an extract from Jonathan’s piece:

Theresa May delivered a speech that could have been co-written by Ed Miliband and the editor of the Daily Mail. It was a fusion of two usually opposed political outlooks into a single message – one that aimed to command, and hold, the centre ground for the Conservative party. To that end, it brazenly sought to colonise territory that used to belong to Labour – thereby shoving that party to the very margins.

Updated

Downing Street has clarified Theresa May’s comments about quantitative easing (see 2.42pm), my colleague Heather Stewart reports.

Updated

Here is Tom Watson, the Labour deputy leader, on Theresa May’s speech.

The government isn’t quite planning to get firms to “name” all foreign workers. Watson is referring to the Times splash, headlined “Firms must list foreign workers”, which is about the proposal to force firms to say what proportion of their workers are foreign (see 9.37am).

Updated

Here is the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, with Anushka Asthana, Rowena Mason, John Crace and Andrew Gimson discussing the Tory conference.

Ukip says May to blame for the problems she is trying to solve

Ukip’s leadership crisis has not stopped them sending out a response to Theresa May’s speech. This is from the Ukip MEP Tim Aker:

Theresa May tried to pass herself off as the Iron Lady, when we actually got Tinfoil Theresa. No substance, no mandate, no direction.

Actions speak louder than words and Theresa May can’t change her record. She increased net immigration to a third of a million while telling voters it would be less than 100,000. She voted remain and is trying to convince the country she was leave’s biggest champion. The Tories must think the country is stupid not to notice. It wasn’t long ago Theresa May wanted to bomb the road to Damascus, not walk it.

Theresa May spent her time in government putting the pinch on working people. Her support for austerity and open borders have cut wages for the poorest, increased pressure on school class sizes and added to the housing crisis. Her record is precisely the reason Britain voted to leave the EU and Britain has two more years of uncontrolled immigration and billions in payment to the EU on her watch. It’s as if, on her watch, nothing changed.

Updated

Here is the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, on Theresa May’s speech.

This was a speech which failed to take responsibility for the past six years of Tory government, of which the prime minister was a leading figure, and the policies which have resulted in a country that works just for the privileged while ordinary people increasingly struggle to make ends meet.

There was no mention of the soaring use of foodbanks or the explosion in precarious work, nor the damage being wrought on communities by cruel Tory cuts over these past six years.

So prime minister Theresa May should not be surprised if her sudden concern for working class communities is met with angry scepticism, and the promise to take on the vested interests her party represents is seen as laughable.

Updated

Morwenna Ferrier, our fashion writer, has sent us this on Theresa May’s choice of dress:

Recycling clothes – as Theresa May has done with her asymmetrical-necklined aubergine dress – used to be sinful, shameful and downright embarrassing; the 1%’s walk of shame, if you will. Then the royals and Flotus did it, beautifully and strategically (at public events), to make a point: we are at one with you.

If, like the proletariat, we choose to spend around £1,500 on a dress (which May may have done – this looks suspiciously like Roland Mouret, May’s go-to designer), we should wear it again. Especially if we plan to discuss David Cameron’s plan to scrap a tax cut for the rich.

The last time Theresa May wore this dress outside parliament, Andrea Leadsom had beaten Michael Gove and the leadership contest had just got … interesting. Choosing to re-wear a dress when addressing your party as a chosen leader during another sticky time is a savvy move, not least because the dress is purple, which is historically the colour of royalty. And whether we like it or not, she’s in charge.

Theresa May on 7 July.
Theresa May on 7 July. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Updated

TUC welcomes May's commitment to putting workers on company boards

The TUC has put out a statement about Theresa May’s speech, with a positive headline. It is welcoming her renewed commitment to putting workers on company boards. Here is the full statement from Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary.

We’re pleased Theresa May has renewed her commitment to having workers on company boards. This is a good first step towards building a fairer economy.

However, we are still miles away from having a country that works for the many. UK workers suffered the biggest fall in wages of any developed country after the crash. Those working in the public sector and private sector urgently need a pay rise.

Working people also need assurances that their jobs won’t be put at risk by Brexit. Our relationship with the single market is crucial for protecting livelihoods across the country.

We need to manage migration better and get tough on employers who undercut pay. But any new deal must also protect jobs and future workers’ rights.

Updated

Here is Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, on the speech.

This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.

Here are some statistics about Theresa May’s speech from the Press Association.

  • The most common phrases were “change has got to come” and “everyone plays by the same rules”, each mentioned seven times.
  • There were 10 references to “Labour” but no namecheck for Jeremy Corbyn.
  • “The good that government can do” was mentioned five times, while “a country that works for everyone” came up four times.
  • “Brexit” was referenced four times.
  • The phrase “Brexit means Brexit” was not used once.
  • “Working class” was mentioned seven times. In his speech last week at the Labour conference, Corbyn did not once mention “working class”.
  • David Cameron received one namecheck from Theresa May, as did George Osborne.
  • The former Labour prime minister Clement Attlee was mentioned once. It is the first time a Conservative leader has mentioned Attlee in a conference speech since Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
  • Totalling just over 7,100 words, the speech was the longest delivered by a Tory leader at conference since David Cameron’s in 2007.

Updated

This is from Pat McFadden, the Labour MP and an Open Europe spokesman, on May’s speech. Open Britain is campaigning for Britain to stay in the single market. McFadden said:

The centrist language the prime minister used in her speech cannot cover up the direction towards hard Brexit which has been signalled this week.

She praised a series of sectors and firms all of whom have warned her about the dangers of leaving the European single market and customs union.

There is no point in talking up industrial strategy when your central economic direction threatens industry’s capacity to export freely to its biggest market.

CBI and IoD express concerns about May's speech

The business groups the CBI and the Institute of Directors have both raised doubts about aspects of Theresa May’s plans.

The CBI backs May’s vision but is unhappy about her plan to put workers on company boards. This is from Carolyn Fairbairn, its director general:

The CBI welcomes the government’s consultation on business practices and will take this opportunity to understand and respond to the true concerns of society.

Government must build on the great things so many firms are already doing and not impose approaches that look good on paper, but don’t make a difference in practice. Placing workers or consumers on boards can be a solution for some firms, but may not be the only or even best way of changing company culture.

But the IoD has effectively accused May of treating business leaders like “pantomime villains”. This is from James Sproule, the IoD’s director of policy:

Plans to ‘name and shame’ companies who employ foreign workers, aside from adding to bureaucracy, send precisely the wrong message. The prime minister should instead listen to her own advice and remember that, in Britain, it doesn’t matter where you were born. Make no mistake, Britain is at its best when it is open and offering a home to the world’s brightest and best who want to study and build a better life for themselves, while contributing to the British economy.

As a longstanding trailblazer for good corporate governance, the IoD welcomes the prime minister’s focus on how corporate leadership can aid economic and social success. Business leaders are not pantomime villains, evading taxes and employing cheap labour from abroad out of some destructive desire to do Britain down, and for every Mike Ashley or Philip Green there are hundreds of thousands of hard-working entrepreneurs who are more likely to remortgage their homes than own a super yacht. Those people will now be watching the autumn statement and the chancellor like a hawk, expecting more measures to promote enterprise and investment than we saw in this speech.

Updated

Corbyn accuses Tories of encouraging xenophobia and hatred

And this is from Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader.

Conservative party leaders have sunk to a new low this week as they fan the flames of xenophobia and hatred in our communities and try to blame foreigners for their own failures.

Drawing up lists of foreign workers won’t stop unscrupulous employers undercutting wages in Britain. Shutting the door to international students won’t pay young people’s tuition fee debts, and ditching doctors from abroad won’t cut NHS waiting lists.

The Conservatives will instead foster division and discrimination in our workplaces and communities.

Once again they are making false promises on immigration they can’t deliver. Instead of turning people against each other, ministers should take action now to deal with the real impact of migration.

Updated

Farron says the Tories are moving to the right

Here is Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, on May’s speech.

Regardless of the rhetoric, the Conservatives have moved to the right. The prime minister’s words about a pitch to the centre-ground are utterly divorced from her party’s actions over the last few days. The Conservatives are reckless, divisive and uncaring. They are the fence-building, snooping-on-your-emails, foreign-worker-listing party and that is something that most people will be revulsed by.

Her opening speech prompted the pound to hit a 31-year low. Our NHS needs a new deal to secure its future and yet we heard nothing, and the chancellor shelved George Osborne’s confused and damaging spending plans but has left us nothing but a blank sheet of paper.

I was surprised though that the prime minister did not take the time to thank the one person who helped create her agenda: not David Cameron, but Nigel Farage.

Updated

Sturgeon says May's policies are 'repellent'

This is from Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister:

Theresa May’s speech comes as the Tories signal they are poised to target foreign workers in the most disgraceful display of reactionary rightwing politics in living memory.

It is an appalling, regressive, and hugely troubling development which will leave many people in Scotland – and across the rest of the UK and beyond – wondering, with real concern, what kind of country the Tories want us to be.

The prime minister has claimed that she is seeking out the middle ground of politics. The repellent reality of the policies planned by her party could not be more different.

Theresa May’s vision of Brexit Britain is a deeply ugly one: a country where people are judged not by their ability or their contribution to the common good but by their birthplace or by their passport.

It is a vision the Scottish government wants no part of, and one which we will never subscribe to. Ours is a vision of an inclusive, tolerant and just society, and we will do everything in our power to shape Scotland in that way.

Updated

Labour says May's vision is 'small, mean and nasty'

Commenting on the speech for Labour, Jon Ashworth, the shadow minister without portfolio, said:

Theresa May was heavy on rhetoric about being on the side of ‘fairness’ and ‘opportunity’ but it’s all we got was more of the same failed Tory approach which has seen the slowest economic recovery since 1920, tax breaks for the top while VAT goes up for the rest, tuition fees trebled, 19,000 police axed and an NHS in crisis with patients waiting longer and hospitals in financial meltdown.

She talked about building a “great meritocracy” but their only answer is a leap backwards to the bad old days, promoting grammar schools which benefit only a few, while the many suffer under the Tory teacher crisis which is pushing thousands of children into oversized classes.

Where we did see shifts it was appropriating Labour policies. She talked about workers on boards, limited action to deal with energy prices and has abandoned the surplus target which we consistently warned would not be met. Labour will be watching closely to ensure these aren’t just more empty promises from a prime minister who has left the British economy with no fiscal framework and is pressing ahead with cuts to in-work benefits, and local authority funding. That’s not on the side of ordinary working class people; it’s the same old Tories helping just the privileged few.

This week was about Theresa May finally outlining her vision. It’s now clear what that vision is not optimistic about the future but small, mean and nasty. This is not a shift to the centre ground but a shift to the right.

Updated

Theresa May’s speech was deliberately lacking concrete policy but her spokeswoman said new policies on energy companies, housing, high-speed broadband, regional growth and pubs would be made in the coming weeks and months. The spokeswoman said:

What she is doing is identifying the problems and saying there is a determination to address them. She is setting out an agenda for the things that we will be looking at; the further detail will come from the departments.

Broadband access in particular will be under the spotlight, and has been raised repeatedly at cabinet and other committees, the spokeswoman said. Corporate governance is also a key policy area where announcements will be made in the coming months.

In the speech, May appeared to be pointing the finger at specific companies and individuals – Facebook, Google and the responsibility of billionaire Philip Green for the BHS pensions’ crisis, or Mike Ashley for working conditions of Sports Direct employees.

That was predictably denied by May’s team. The spokeswoman said:

She’s not picking out individuals. She knows people at home think it’s one rule for one and one for another. They go away with massive profits and people don’t see the benefits. She feels there’s a further gap than ever between big business and workers.

The spokeswoman refused to directly deny May had taken the playbook of former leader Ed Miliband and repackaged it for the Conservatives.

This is being quite pragmatic. It’s looking at problems and saying that’s what I’ll look at, not saying that’s a Labour or Conservative thing to do.

Updated

Here is the full text of Theresa May’s speech. It is entitled The good that government can do.

May's speech – verdict from the Twitter commentariat

And this is what political journalists and commentators are saying about the speech.

Generally, people think it was a significant act of re-positioning.

From ITV’s Robert Peston:

From the Guardian’s Rafael Behr:

From the Independent’s John Rentoul:

From the Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman:

From the Daily Mirror’s Jason Beattie

From Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh:

From the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith:

From the Sunday Times’ James Lyons:

From the Financial Times’ Sebastian Payne:

From the Herald’s Iain Macwhirter:

From Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis:

Updated

And here is my colleague Rowena Mason with 15 key points from the speech, and her analysis of their significance.

Here is my colleague Peter Walker’s story on the speech.

Theresa May's speech – snap verdict:

Theresa May’s speech – snap verdict: Passionate, uplifting, brave – the leader’s speech was brilliant. But that was the Scottish leader, Ruth Davidson, whose speech introducing Theresa May was one of the best of the whole conference season. As for Theresa May’s, it was rather more questionable.

What was certainly bold was May’s decision to cast herself as the leader of a “quiet revolution” (see 11.51am). Taking the EU referendum vote as her starting point, she said it was not just a vote to leave the EU but a protest against an economic and political system rigged in the interests of the elite to the detriment of ordinary people. She is not necessarily wrong, and this analysis is not unlike Jeremy Corbyn’s, but May then set out to use it to make the case for her own brand of pragmatic, populist, “one nation” Conservatism. What she had to say about tax-dodgers (and, even more pointedly, tax-dodging accountants), corporate responsibility, market failure and industrial intervention was provocative in Tory terms, and yet another indication of how far the party has come from the days of Margaret Thatcher. Edward Heath coined the term “the unacceptable face of capitalism”, and May has placed herself firmly in the Heath/Major/Blair centrist tradition. It’s Christian democracy – or perhaps Anglican democracy, given that May’s father was a vicar.

Yet there was nothing in the speech to show that May is willing to match her rhetorical courage with action. If she really thinks working people are losing out under the tax system, she could abandon George Osborne’s inheritance tax cut. If she is serious about intergenerational fairness, she could shelve the “triple lock”. And if she accepts that housing policy needs to change so that people can get on to the ladder, she could rip up planning laws and send the bulldozers on to the green belt. But of course that wouldn’t go down well in Maidenhead (her constituency), or with the Daily Telegraph, or with the Conservative party at large.

May said at one point that government was about “action … about doing something”. But caution seems to be more her watchword. We’re still waiting for a decision about Heathrow.

Ultimately this speech will be judged by whether May can deliver on the heady ambitions that she set herself. It is not inconceivable; in some respects her record as home secretary was radical. But she would have been much more convincing today if she had backed her rhetoric with at least one announcement to show that change is real.

Updated

This is an agenda for a Conservatism rooted in the centre ground.

That is what this government is about, she says. Doing things, not being someone.

This is not always glamorous or exciting. But it is a noble calling, she says.

At Downing Street she passes the portraits of former prime ministers, men and one woman.

She says figures like Churchill and Attlee and Thatcher remind her of the good government can do.

Our nation has been shaped by those who have stepped up to be counted.

We face such a moment today.

Not every generation is called to step up, she says. But this is our generation’s moment.

We have a chance to shape our future here in Britain, she says.

That is the opportunity we have been given.

So come with me, and we will make that brighter future, she says.

Together, let’s seize the day.

And that’s it. The speech is over. I will post a snap verdict, reaction and analysis shortly.

Updated

May says she wants the first new grammar schools to open for 50 years.

May says she wants to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

May thanks the Olympic team for doing their country proud.

It was a memorable moment for British sport, she says.

But one moment stood out more than any other. It was when Alistair Brownlee stopped in the race in Mexico to help carry his brother home.

That revealed an essential truth: we succeed or fail together.

That is why the central tenet of her belief is that there is more to life than the individual.

This is the moment May is referring to:

Alistair Brownlee gives up chance to win race and helps brother Jonny

Updated

May says she wants Britain to be a great meritocracy. That is what she has always believed in, she says.

United, Britain can achieve great things, she says. That was shown at the Rio Olympics.

May criticises politicians who opposed grammar schools for others while using them for their own children.

That is why ordinary working class people think it is one rule for one group, and another rule for the elite.

That is a scandal, she says.

We, the Conservative party, must bring it to an end.

Updated

Mays says she wants everyone to have access to a good school place.

We have come a long way, she says. But we need to go further. There are 1.25 million children in schools that are not good enough. This particularly affects children in the Midlands and the north.

She says she wants more universities to set up schools. And she wants private schools to do more to help state schools. She wants more faith schools. And, where there is demand from parents, where they will take pupils from all backgrounds, the government will lift the ban on new grammar schools.

Updated

May says she was proud of introducing the Modern Slavery Act. And she reformed policing.

But injustices remain. If you are from a black Caribbean background, you are seven times more likely to be excluded from school.

And it is not just people from minority backgrounds who are affected. White working class boys are less likely to go to university than any other group.

That is why she established an audit of fairness and discrimination in the public sector, she says.

Updated

May says Britain is not a fair country at the moment.

A society that works for everyone is one that is based on fairness, she says.

Everyone should have access to the housing ladder, and access to a good school place.

But if you cannot work, you need support.

That is why it was important that Damian Green announced the end to some mandatory retesting for some people on disability benefits.

May says she wants Britain to be a country where it does not matter where you came from, or who you are, or your colour, or whether you are gay or straight – all that should matter is how hard you are willing to work.

Updated

May says she wants to hear no more “of Labour’s absurd belief that they have a monopoly of compassion”.

Let’s put an end to their sanctimonious pretence of moral superiority. Let’s make clear that they have given up the right to call themselves the party of the NHS, the party of the workers, the party of public servants.

The Conservative party truly are the party of the workers, the party of public servants, the party of the NHS, she says.

We believe in good that government can do.

Updated

May says the NHS should unite us.

But at every election, Labour try to use it to divide the country. They say the Tories will cut it, although the Tories always increase its funding. And they say the Tories will privatise it, although private sector involvement in the NHS increased most under Labour. And Labour is the only party to cut NHS spending, which it did in Wales, she says.

May says the NHS is one of the finest health systems in the world.

It reflects our sense of fairness.

We all support it, she says. And she means all. There is cross-party support for the NHS.

So let’s say thank you to doctors and nurses, she says.

May says Conservatives back business.

But no one succeeds without relying on services paid for by the taxpayer.

So if you are a tax-dodger, we are coming after you.

And if you are a firm helping people dodge tax, we are coming after you too, she says.

Updated

May says the way a small number of businesses behave fuels the concerns people have.

Most businesses are well run, she says.

But the actions of a few tarnish the reputations of everyone.

She says too often those supposed to hold firms to account come from the same social group. That is why she wants workers and consumers on boards.

And the government is holding a review to ensure workers’ rights are protected in the modern economy.

That’s right, she says. A Conservative government wants to enhance workers’ rights.

May says there have been some bad side-effects from the action taken after the crash. People with savings have become poorer.

Change must come, and we are going to deliver it, she says.

Updated

We also need to take big and controversial decisions about infrastructure.

The government will press ahead with HS2.

And it will soon make a decision on airports.

And it is why the government signed up to Hinkley Point.

We can make these big decisions because the economy is strong, she says.

Updated

May says we need to build more homes.

That means using the power of government to repair the market, she says.

May says she understands people’s frustration.

But when government does not act, faith in capitalism falls.

The Conservative party will always believe in free markets.

She says from Edmund Burke onwards, the Tories have always thought that if you value something, you should be able to reform it.

If markets do not work, they should change.

It is not right that so many people in rural areas cannot get a decent broadband service.

It is not right that people are stuck on the highest energy tariffs.

And it is not right that the housing market does not work for people.

Updated

May praises Andy Street, the Tory West Midlands mayoral candidate. She describes him as an action man for Birmingham.

May says the government will identify those sectors of the economy of strategic importance, and protect and help them.

Foreign investment in the north has increased at double the rate for the rest of the country, she says.

She says the West Midlands is the only part of the country with a trade surplus with China.

May says she wants to help those who give something back.

She wants to tackled structural problems like the shortage of affordable homes, the need for infrastructure, the need to rebalance the economy.

If we want that change, we need the vision and determination to see it though, she says.

That is why Greg Clark and Philip Hammond are working on an industrial strategy.

Updated

May says the Tories will defend the armed forces.

And never again will they let those “activist, leftwing human rights lawyers” harass our armed forces, she says.

May says now is the time to build a bold, new future.

Britain must crack down on modern slavery, ratify the Paris climate change agreement, always defend free trade and always stand up for national defence.

May says it is too early to say what the outcome will be.

It will be a tough negotiation. There will be some give and take, she says.

She says it would be counter-productive to give a running commentary.

But she wants firms to continue to trade with Europe.

We are not leaving to give up control of immigration again, and to come under the jurisdiction of the ECJ.

We will become an independent country, she says.

And we will become a global Britain.

Updated

May says the government needs to do what people voted for, and take Britain out of the EU.

It took that typically quiet resolve for people to defy the threats and vote for leave.

Article 50 will be triggered no later than March.

There will be a great repeal bill.

Then UK laws will be made in Westminster, and judges will sit not in Luxembourg, but in UK courts.

People said they wanted these things. This Conservative government is going to deliver them.

May says she wants to see a confident, global Britain.

A country that is prosperous and secure.

That is what she means by a country that works for everyone.

May says if we accept that, we can build a united Britain.

The main lesson she takes from Labour is that Labour is not just divided, but divisive.

It is keen to pit one against another, she says.

It stands for fighting among themselves, trying to end careers, tolerating antisemitsm.

You know what some people call them: the nasty party.

NOTE: That’s a neat, self-referential joke about the famous speech May gave when she was Conservative chairman, and told her party conference that the Tories were still seen as the nasty party.

Updated

May says a change has got to come.

It is time to remember the good government can do.

It may not have all the answers, but it can be a force for good, she says.

She says it is time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right.

Government should support free trade.

But it should not accept one set of rules for some, and another for everyone else.

Updated

May says she is in government “to stand up for the weak, and to stand up to the strong”.

She talks about how commentators talk about the public.

Just listen to the way a lot of politicians and commentators talk about the public. They find their patriotism distasteful, their concerns about immigration parochial, their views about crime illiberal, their attachment to their job security inconvenient. They find the fact that more than 17 million people voted to leave the European Union simply bewildering.

May says “division and unfairness is all around”.

Between the old and the young.

Between London and the rest of the UK.

Between the rich and powerful, and the rest.

May says the Tories want people to be able to get on.

But she says the Tories recognise that people owe obligations to society.

Firms should train young people.

And people should pay their fair share of tax.

Too many people in positions of power behave as if they have more in common with international elites than the people they pass on the street.

May says if you are international, you belong nowhere.

She criticises those who take money from companies while they know the company pension scheme will go bust.

I am putting you on warning ... A change is going to come.

Updated

May says Britain is a country based on strong bonds of citizenship.

She talks about how people contribute to society, including those in the services.

We are a country “small in size, but large in stature”, she says.

Britain has great institutions. And we are one United Kingdom.

May says she will also fight to preserve the United Kingdom “and will never let divisive nationalists drive us apart”.

Updated

Now we need to change again, May says.

She says the referendum vote was not just about leaving the EU.

It was about a sense that the world works well for the privileged few, but not for them.

She says if you knock on almost any door, you will find the roots of that revolution laid bare.

What happens if you cannot get on to the property ladder? Or get your kid into a good school. Or if your pay has stagnated, while prices have gone up

She says the wealthy did not lose out after the financial crisis, but ordinary working families.

If you are on low wages because of immigration, life does not seem fair.

It seems your life has been sacrificed in the interests of others. So change has got to come.

Updated

May runs through some of the achievements of David Cameron’s government.

And it is right to pause to say thank you to the man who made that possible, she says.

He challenged the Tories to change, saying they could win that way. And he was right. They did change, and they did win.

David Cameron, thank you.

That gets a strong round of applause.

Updated

May says the Brexit vote was 'a quiet revolution'

May says a “quiet revolution” took place in the country three months ago.

Millions of people said they were not prepared to be ignored.

  • May says the Brexit vote was “a quiet revolution”.

May says a vision is nothing without the determination to see it through.

You need to put the hours in and the effort too. But if you do, great things can happen, great changes can occur.

But that is what will happen. People voted for change in June, and change has got to come, she says.

May says today she wants to set our her vision for Britain, and to explain what a country that works for everyone means.

And she wants to set the party and the country on the path towards the new centre ground.

Everyone should have the chance to be all they want to be, she says.

May starts by saying some big questions were hanging in the air when the Tories came to Birmingham:

Do they have a plan for Brexit? We do.

Are they ready to see it through? We are.

Can Boris Johnson say on message for four days? Just about, she jokes.

Updated

Theresa May's speech

Theresa May is taking the stage now.

Here is the full text of Ruth Davidson’s speech.

Updated

This, from the Economist’s Jeremy Cliffe, is spot on.

Davidson is now winding up.

Conference, I’m an old-fashioned Tory.

I believe – unselfconsciously - in God, and country and community.

I believe in personal freedom, personal choice and personal responsibility.

I believe in small but effective government.

In service, in duty, in decency.

In Britain.

We are about to enter a period of great upheaval.

There will be obstacles to overcome, orthodoxies to challenge and, yes, some old thinking to be set aside.

But the prize will justify the journey.

I want us to be able to look back - five years from now - and say; we did all that we could, and we did it for the right reasons.

That we were guided by the values we hold dear.

…To know that we reached out across this country; to every town, city and community; to those who share our beliefs and those who don’t.

…That we shone a light on darkness.

…brought hope, created opportunities and widened horizons.

Davidson says immigrants living in the UK are welcome here

Davidson says immigrants living in the UK are welcome here.

We must not forget our own party’s history and values.

I once listened to Sir John Major tell of his childhood in Brixton – then an area where many new arrivals to Britain set up their first home.

And he talked of his Conservative values and those of his neighbours – and said there is nothing as Conservative as pulling your loved ones close and striking out to build a better future for your family.

So as we have difficult – but necessary - debates on how we manage borders in future, let us not forget that behind discussions of numbers and rules and criteria, there lies people and homes and families.

And for those who have already chosen to build a life, open a business, make a contribution, I say this is your home, and you are welcome here.

Davidson says the UK is “a shining light of democracy, liberty and hope”.

One of the reasons I love this country so much and have fought so hard to keep it together is because I know it is a force for good in this world.

I’ve seen – up close - British troops protect civilians in war.

I’ve met the Scottish charities working to make the world land mine free

I’ve watched our businesses trade and support nations abroad

And I’ve seen our universities collaborate the world over to make vital breakthroughs in medical science.

That strong, proud, virtuous internationalism that has so shaped our national character cannot be cowed by the challenges of the day.

Davidson addresses what changing the rules means.

That means tackling the causes of poverty – like poor education, addiction and dependency– not forever mopping up the consequences.

It means a house-building revolution so couples in their thirties have the chance of buying their own home – not renting out for ever.

And it means being unashamedly pro-family –giving parents the support they need to bring up their children, so they can do what every parent wants

Ensuring their child a better life than that they’ve had for themselves.

All easy to say, and none of it easy to do. But you know the old saying

If you want something said, ask a man.

If you want something done, get a woman.

And in Theresa May, we have a prime minister who I know is absolutely determined to act and to face down these challenges. And she’s just the woman for the job.

Updated

Davidson says many people feel the system does not work for them.

I’m a Conservative; I believe in hard work and just rewards.

But let’s be honest: too often in these last few years, working hard just hasn’t been enough.

The want-to-work mother trapped at home because she can’t afford the cost of childcare…

The older worker - out of a job or looking to change career – who hits an age barrier when it comes to training opportunities…

The tenant imprisoned in a drug-riddled neighbourhood. No way out and nobody there to help.

They aren’t strangers to us; they are our neighbours, our families, our friends.

These are people who do play by the rules, but it’s STILL not enough.

So it’s up to us to change those rules…

Davidson says the Tories must earn the trust of the people.

It’s our job to show them that we understand their anxieties, that we share their concerns.

…That we’ve got a plan to improve lives and that we’ve got the conviction, the drive and determination to see it through.

And we mustn’t do it to fulfil some cynical electoral tactic.

Yes, of course we want their support in the ballot box, but much more importantly we want to earn that most precious thing - trust.

We need them to know that they have a voice that will be listened to.

Davidson says the Tories should not welcome the demise of Labour.

Now I know the temptation is to celebrate what could be the effective demise of Labour as a functioning political party. It’s tempting and I do understand that.

But it would be utterly wrong.

Because the truth is that Labour’s retreat from reality under Jeremy Corbyn has left millions of people across our country feeling disenfranchised.

Ordinary people who don’t expect miracles…

…Just a job that pays them fairly.

…A good local school.

…A neighbourhood that’s free of crime and drugs.

Labour has turned its back on these ordinary, decent people; so it’s up to us to act.

Davidson says the Conservatives are back on the mainstream of Scottish politics.

But old alliances and old certainties are crumbling.

Labour’s broad church has shrunk to a rickety pew, she says.

She says Labour does not understand how ridiculous it looks to the outside world.

Labour held a ghettoised women’s conference. She says Harriet Harman and other speakers lined up to say Theresa May was not a proper feminist.

But May has done more for women than any pink buses that Labour has launched, she says.

Theresa May has broken barriers her entire life – first female Conservative party chairman, longest serving home secretary – male or female - since Henry Matthews in 1892, and only the second female prime minister in our country’s history.

And she’s made sure that all along the way, she’s helped women as she goes.

Increasing female participation in politics by setting up Women to Win.

Cracking down on domestic abuse and passing new laws on modern slavery, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

She’s done more for women than your pink bus, Harriet.

And, right now, there are girls and young women across this country that are looking to Number 10 Downing Street, and who see that gender is no barrier to advancement. That with hard work, application, commitment, there is nothing they can’t do.

What do the Conservatives do for women? We empower them to be leaders.

Updated

Davidson says she will oppose any attempt by the SNP to have a second referendum on independence.

If the SNP want to pick a fight, they should pick a fight on issues like low school standards, she says.

Davidson says she wants to see Conservatives winning in every community in Scotland.

Ruth Davidson's speech

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, is speaking now.

She says that when she took over the Scottish leadership, the media described the party in Scotland as a corpse.

But now the Scottish Conservatives are back as a fighting force, she says.

Patrick McLoughlin introduces Natalie Evans, who became leader of the Lords in the summer. He says she will be the youngest person in the Lords until next week. She is 40.

Evans used to run the New Schools Network, a charity that promotes free schools. Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s co-chief of staff, also worked there for a while.

Evans says the Conservatives are a party that believes in aspiration, and that anyone can rise to the top if they work hard.

The final session of the conference is now getting under way.

Patrick McLoughlin, the party chairman, is speaking now, thanking those involved in organising the event.

Updated

Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story on the backlash Amber Rudd is facing over her proposal to force firms to reveal how many foreigners they employ.

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has been tweeting about Theresa May’s speech.

Ed Miliband, who was criticised by Tories when he proposed freezing energy bills when he was Labour leader, has posted a rather good response to those final tweets on his own Twitter feed.

Burnham says Tory conference becoming 'increasingly xenophobic'

Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, has also put out a new statement attacking Amber Rudd’s proposals to restrict the number of foreign workers coming to the UK. He was particularly critical of the suggestion that companies could be forced to declare who many foreigners they employ. (See 9.37am.) He said:

The tone of the Conservative conference has become increasingly xenophobic. Theresa May has presided over the return of the nasty party. Whether it’s doctors, migrants or Europe, the Tories are blaming anyone but themselves for their failure.

The idea of British companies producing lists of foreign workers runs counter to everything that this country has ever stood for. It would be divisive, discriminatory and risks creating real hostility in workplaces and communities.

10 things we've learned from the Conservative conference

Theresa May’s speech later this morning may turn out to be the most revealing of the party conference but after three days quite a lot has already emerged about the state of the Conservative party. Here are 10 things we’ve learned.

1. Brexit will be at the harder end of the scale. This was signalled in Theresa May’s speech on Sunday and – judging not least by the market reaction – it is the most important takeaway from the whole conference. Ministers still seem uncertain as to exactly what they want, but the Norway/Switzerland models (soft Brexit) are out and, although May is not planning to simply walk away and slam the door (the hardest possible Brexit), she will prioritise getting control over immigration over single market membership. Brexiteers strongly object to the terms hard/soft on the grounds that they are loaded, because hard implies bad (clean/dirty is one alternative formula they prefer), but this terminology is not unreasonable. Economists believe disengaging from the single market will have negative consequences.

2. The Conservative party is largely united behind May on Brexit, but it is complacent about the risks. From what has been said in the conference hall, and on the fringe, you could easily forget that the party was split down the middle on the EU four months ago, because now the Tories seem remarkably unified. According to a ConservativeHome poll, 76% of members back the harder Brexit May is offering. But there is a considerable disconnect between Toryworld, where many members are convinced that all forecasts about Brexit being bad for the economy are just wrong, and reality, where May’s speech sent the pound tumbling. Two figures who are not complacent are May herself, who has been warning about “bumps in the road”, and Philip Hammond, the chancellor, who used his speech on Monday to try to warn his party about potential bad news ahead.

3. City and business opinion does not matter to the Tory leadership as much as it used to. Traditionally the Conservative party has been quite deferential towards the City and business, but now the tone is different. “City delegates stranded on Planet Tory for the duration of the party conference report the atmosphere has turned toxic,” the Financial Times’ Lombard column reports. A Bloomberg story saying the City would get no special favours in the Brexit negotiations caused alarm (even though it was denied) and then Amber Rudd, the home secretary, announced a crackdown on work visas, which prompted a strong business backlash. In government Hammond is fighting to protect business interests in the Brexit talks although, in a perceptive Facebook post, ITV’s Robert Peston says the conference shows “the Treasury, in the May government, is less powerful than it’s been for many decades.”

4. May seems serious about defining herself as a centre-ground politician, although so far there is little policy evidence to show that she will be very different from her predecessor. It is commonplace for political leaders serious about power to argue that they represent the centre ground, or that the centre ground has moved towards them, but May is finding it easier to make this case than David Cameron because for most his premiership the centre ground was taken by his coalition partners, the Lib Dems. However, so far, we have yet to see a big policy shift that makes this real. When Nick Robinson challenged her yesterday to show her commitment to working people by axing inheritance tax cuts (which only help the wealthy), or higher public sector pay, May ducked for cover.

5. The Tories aren’t very worried about Labour, but that has not stopped them annexing some of Jeremy Corbyn’s policy territory. In some respects, competitive party politics is quite simple: all you have to do is attack your opponents’ bad ideas, pinch their good ones, and make sure you have the sense to tell which is which. The Tories have done that this week, hijacking some of the soundest aspects of the Corbyn agenda – a slower timetable for balancing the budget, reviewing whether employment laws suit the modern workplace, and a migration impact fund. Some Labour figures think that, if the Tories are on their turf, that will help Corbyn, but that is not necessarily so because, on the economy and immigration, the Tories are more trusted than Labour. The Tory MP Robert Halfon gave an interesting speech saying his party should worry about Corbyn’s ability to inspire young voters, but he has been a lone voice and generally the Conservatives are not taking the threat from Corbyn seriously at all.

6. Next year’s most important election may well be the West Midlands mayoral one. Labour is expected to win the mayoral elections in Greater Manchester and Liverpool city region next year quite easily, but the contest in the West Midlands could turn out to be gripping. The Tories have used the conference to promote their candidate, the outgoing John Lewis boss Andy Street, and Street say he just needs a 4% swing from the general election results to win. Given that the West Midlands is one of the regions where general elections are often decided, this will be a key test for Corbyn’s Labour versus May’s Conservatives.

7. The Tories have ditched the Cameron era quite ruthlessly. There is little gratitude in politics. Ministers have been acknowledging David Cameron in their speeches, but their tributes have barely gone beyond the polite and, outside the conference hall, it’s more a case of “Dave who?”. In the atrium there is a display featuring pictures of Tory prime ministers from Robert Peel to John Major, from which Cameron is notably absent. The people most closely associated with his administration, such as George Osborne and Michael Gove, have not turned up and, in a final indignity, Sir Craig Oliver, Cameron’s former communications chief, had to pay the extortionate business attendee rate to get a pass to be allowed entry into the conference building.

8. Being foreign secretary has not changed Boris Johnson. Diplomacy is normally associated with a certain amount of gravitas, and before the conference it was not clear whether Johnson would adopt a serious tone, or whether we would get the usual faux-spontaneous, rambling, semi-frivolous standup routine. In the event we got the latter. It was actually a very good speech, probably the best anyone has delivered so far (not least for the use of the word “funkapolitan”), although what the mandarins at King Charles Street and Johnson’s fellow foreign ministers made of it is anyone’s guess.

9. The Tories who backed the Vote Leave campaign are not willing to defend its key claims. One of the TV highlights of the conference has been Sky’s Darren McCaffrey trying to get the Tory Vote Leave leaders to defend their claim that Brexit would free up £350m a week for the NHS. The Vote Leave NHS promise was disowned some months ago, but this week we’ve seen further evidence that Vote Leave’s Brexit forecasts were misleading. Rudd said she was not planning to increase immigration from the Commonwealth as EU immigration falls (leavers forecast the opposite), and Brexit ministers are backing away from the claim that there will be no trade-off between controlling immigration and enjoying the full benefits of the single market. (Admittedly, some of the worst remain economic forecasts have failed to materialise too, but the person most associated with those claims, George Osborne, is out of the picture.)

10. An early election looks less and less likely. May has been saying for some time that she has no plans for an early election, but in an interview on Sunday she went further then before, saying an early election would generate “instability”. Just as significantly, it has become clear from what has and has not been said around the conference that there is little appetite in the party for an early poll.

Updated

SNP, Greens and Plaid Cyrmu issue joint statement condemning Tories's stance on immigration

The SNP leader and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, the Green co-leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley and the Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood have released a joint statement this morning condemning the Tories for their stance on immigration. Here it is in full.

The countries of the United Kingdom face a spiralling political and economic crisis. At the top of the Conservative party, the narrow vote in favour of leaving the EU has now been interpreted as the pretext for a drastic cutting of ties with Europe, which would have dire economic results - and as an excuse for the most toxic rhetoric on immigration we have seen from any government in living memory.

This is a profoundly moral question which gets to the heart of what sort of country we think we live in. We will not tolerate the contribution of people from overseas to our NHS being called into question, or a new version of the divisive rhetoric of ‘British jobs for British workers’. Neither will we allow the people of these islands, no matter how they voted on June 23rd, to be presented as a reactionary, xenophobic mass whose only concern is somehow taking the UK back to a lost imperial age. At a time of increasing violence and tension, we will call out the actions of politicians who threaten to enflame those same things.

This is not a time for parties to play games, or meekly respect the tired convention whereby they do not break cover during each other’s conferences. It is an occasion for us to restate the importance of working together to resist the Tories’ toxic politics, and make the case for a better future for our people and communities. We will do this by continuing to work and campaign with the fierce sense of urgency this political moment demands.

The statement has also been signed by Steven Agnew, leader of the Greens in Northern Ireland, Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens, and Alice Hooker-Stroud, leader of the Welsh Greens.

Communities secretary Greg Clark joked last night to a meeting of liberal Tories that Theresa May had been great for progressives because Boris Johnson “spends most of his time out of the country”.

At a midnight reception for the Tory Reform Group, members of the group cheered as Clark, who was a remain campaigner teased his cabinet colleague. “It’s been a great year for the TRG and particularly a great summer as there are more TRG MPs than there are Liberal Democrats,” he said. “Damian Green in the cabinet! And Boris spends most of his time out of the country!”

TRG, of which Green is vice-president, is associated with the more pro-EU wing of the party, and describes itself as the “home of One Nation Conservatism”, with patrons including Sir John Major and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Ken Clarke is the group’s president.

During the boisterous reception, Clark also ridiculed the Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies for accidentally saying we must “make a success out of breakfast” instead of Brexit.

Updated

Conservative conference policy announcements – full list

Here is a roundup of all the main policy announcements made at the conference so far.

Saturday

Sunday

  • Up to £750m for Afghanistan from the international aid budget between 2017 and 2020.

Monday

  • Confirmation that the Treasury has abandoned plans to get the budget into surplus by 2020.
  • A guarantee to organisations bidding for multi-year funding from the EU that the Treasury will pay the remainder if their funding gets cut as a result of Brexit.
  • Funding for the transport component of the Midlands Engine for Growth worth £12m.

Tuesday

Updated

Rudd defends plans to curb number of foreign workers coming to UK

Amber Rudd, the home secretary, was on the Today programme this morning defending the plans she announced yesterday to restrict the number of foreign workers coming to the UK. She said some firms were not doing enough to employ local people.

The purpose of this review is to look at whether they are doing enough to train people locally when they could be able to do that. There are record levels of employment, which is great, but there are still one in 10 18- to 24-year-olds unemployed and I want businesses to think first about locally training people where possible. For instance, I went and visited a factory quite recently where they recruit almost exclusively from Romania and Poland, where they have people who have experience in factories building these sofas that they have. They didn’t even consider training locally – there was a local college they could have worked with, but they choose to recruit outside the UK. We set policies to encourage businesses to make a profit and be successful, but also to have a responsibility to local employment and we’re asking them to join us on this journey so they don’t automatically go abroad where it’s cheaper perhaps and sometimes they feel more efficient.

According to the Times, one of Rudd’s proposals is for firms to have to publish figures showing what proportion of their workforce is foreign. Rudd told Today that this was just a proposal and that it would not definitely be implemented.

The business I mentioned to you would have shown it had 80-90% non-UK citizens working there. But it’s not something we’re definitely going to do, it’s one of the tools we’re going to use as a review to see if we can use it as a way of nudging people to do better behaviour.

Amber Rudd.
Amber Rudd. Photograph: DAVID HARTLEY/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

This morning we learn that Nigel Farage may still be technically leader of Ukip, even though the party announced a new leader last month. There is no danger of anything like that occurring in the Conservative party. This conference has shown that Theresa May has total control of her party and today, in her keynote speech concluding the event, May will have the chance to tell her party and the country what she stands for. She is still a relatively unknown quantity as a leader, and this will be the speech that defines her in the public mind for the years ahead.

Some extracts from the speech have been released in advance. The Guardian has headlined on May saying she wants to seize a “new centre ground”. Here is our story, and here is our front page.

Other papers have headlined on her attack on the liberal elite.

After May’s speech, there is not much else today. Here is the agenda.

10am: Conference opens with speeches from Tory MPs.

10.30am: Speeches from Natalie Evans, the leader of the Lords, and Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

Around 11am: Theresa May’s speech.

If you want to follow or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments below the line but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time. Alternatively you could post a question to me on Twitter.

Updated

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