Quote of the day
“Here we are – bright lights, great atmosphere, enthusiastic young people. It reminds me of my last night out on the town Aberdeen. Dance like nobody’s watching they say. Well, I did … but they were watching!” Michael Gove strode on to the conference stage to the strains of Abba’s Dancing Queen.
Tweet of the day
Digging for exclusives at Tory conference (sorry, not sorry) @SunbeltRentals pic.twitter.com/bYtaBOvhqg
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) October 4, 2021
Debate of the day
Rishi Sunak told party activists in no uncertain terms that tax cuts were not around the corner. “Whilst I know tax rises are unpopular, some will even say un-Conservative. I’ll tell you what is un-Conservative: unfunded pledges, reckless borrowing and soaring debt,” he said. Tax cuts were his aim, he added, but not until there were sustainable public finances.
The chancellor declined to rule out further rises, a challenge to some of his more traditional cabinet colleagues such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, who had said “we are at the upper reaches of the reasonableness” when it comes to the tax burden.
The day in a picture
Pig farmers joined the protesters amid anger over Boris Johnson’s flippant comments about a looming cull.
Row of the day
There was a vague sense of the lone Japanese soldier still fighting the second world war in Lord Frost’s speech, peppered with references to the “remain establishment” and how parliament was “hijacked by the unholy trinity of Keir Starmer, John Bercow and Hilary Benn”. Still at war with Brussels, the Brexit minister threatened to ditch the Northern Ireland protocol, warning that the government “cannot wait for ever” for the EU to respond to its demands to rewrite the Brexit arrangement.
The EU’s ambassador to the UK, João Vale de Almeida, was biting in his response. “We worried right from the start that the protocol would not take the strain if not handled sensitively. As it has turned out, we were right,” he said.
Tuesday’s highlights
Priti Patel is the big draw to the main stage, though the auditorium has been plagued by poor attendance and noise pollution from the neighbouring exhibition hall. Expect tough announcements on monitoring criminals and community service. The health secretary, Sajid Javid, also has the floor. Touring the fringe, Dominic Raab will give his first interview in his new role as justice secretary at the Spectator event, and two mayors also give keynote interviews: Tees Valley’s Ben Houchen and, perhaps more surprisingly, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. And it’s also karaoke night later …
