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As it happenedended1538331142

Conservative conference - as it happened: Boris Johnson denounced as 'irrelevant and offensive' from main stage

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent, in Birmingham
Sunday 30 September 2018 19:12 BST
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Conservative Party Conference: Five things to watch

Boris Johnson has been denounced from the stage of the Conservative Party conference as "irrelevant" and an "offensive person" by Lord Digby Jones for his contentious remarks about businesses.

It comes after the party was hit by a humiliating security gaffe in the official conference app, which allowed members of the public to access the contact details and mobile phone numbers of senior members of the government and prominent journalists.

On Sunday - the first day of the party's annual conference in Birmingham - a sizeable protest also took place in Birmingham as demonstrators demanded a second public vote on the final Brexit deal.

This liveblog has now closed - follow again tomorrow for day two of the Conservative Party conference

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Theresa May's ex-deputy demands Tories stop squabbling about Brexit or risk losing power to Jeremy CorbynTheresa May’s former deputy has urged the Conservatives to stop squabbling about Brexit and aim their fire on Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party or risk losing power at the next election.Damian Green told The Independent his party’s conference in Birmingham must be the first step in refocusing the party’s goals towards domestic policy that “help people in their daily lives”.The ex-cabinet member, who was one of the prime minister’s closest allies, spoke out as Ms May faced a wall of criticism from her party, with many MPs apparently spooked by what one ex-May aide described as Mr Corbyn’s “populist and clever” performance at Labour conference last week.Three cabinet ministers told The Independent they backed Mr Green’s call for a refocusing, but would not go on record for fear of undermining a prime minister weakened by continuous infighting and backbiting.A number of MPs said they did not think it would be possible to really talk about anything but Brexit this week, nor to refocus the party until Ms May had moved aside for a new leader.Mr Green’s intervention follows three days in which a number of prominent Conservatives have beseeched their party to take Mr Corbyn and his agenda seriously as an electoral threat.He told The Independent: “The Labour conference reminded us as a party that in the end elections are won or lost on domestic issues. There is a need to get beyond Brexit and focus very hard between now and the end of the parliament on the domestic agenda.“It seems odd to say it now, but the next election will not be decided on Brexit. People will be looking at other things, and it’s absolutely the case that a Conservative offering needs to say how a competitive, enterprise economy can give people more choice, can spread prosperity, instead of state controlled centralised economics.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 08:02
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Theresa May just announced a new festival to be held after Britain leaves the EUThe UK will host a major new festival to celebrate culture, sports and innovation in 2022, in an attempt to showcase its post-Brexit future, Theresa May has announced.Ministers will pour £120m into preparations for The Festival, a nationwide celebration inspired by the 1851 Great Exhibition during Queen Victoria's reign and the post-war Festival of Britain some 70 years ago.The prime minister said the event would come at a moment of “national renewal” as the nation seeks to establish itself outside the European Union, and will coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 08:02
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Foreign buyers to be hit with higher stamp duty, Therea May announces after criticism over housing crisisForeign buyers of UK homes will be hit with higher stamp duty, as Theresa Mayseeks to counter criticism that her “mission” to tackle the housing crisis is a flop.The one per cent hike – possibly rising to three per cent – will raise tens of millions of pounds to cut the number of rough sleepers, the prime minister will announce.The government believes there is evidence that allowing foreign buyers to snap up homes while paying the same duty as British residents “is inflating house prices”.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 08:03
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'Don't mention the C-word' – Cabinet ministers will try to pull back from Chequers in bid to force Theresa May to change tack on BrexitExclusive: Cabinet ministers go cold on Ms May's approach as she prepares ‘Chequers 2’

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 08:48
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Conservative party chairman, Brandon Lewis, is now talking on Sky News about the party's app after the security gaffe yesterday.

"Any breach of data is a serious matter - we've spoken to the company that supplied it. We are contacting the delegates concerned, but any breach is a serious breach."

Lewis says members of the public "had to have their email addresses" to access delegates numbers. 

He refuses to say whether he considered resigning over the debacle. 

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:07
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Lewis says there will be a concentration at conference this year beyond Brexit - on the "domestic agenda".

Are you ready for an election, he is asked.  "I am not working in hypotheticals - the next general election is in 2022."

Will Theresa May lead the Conservatives into the next general? "I hope she will, yeah." 

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:15
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This is the Conservative MP George Freeman, who formerly advised Theresa May, commenting on one Independent story from last night with remarks from the prime minister's former deputy, Damian Green.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:18
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Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, says people don't have to have your mobile number to be toxic to you when asked about the conference security breach. 

"There's no doubt it was embarrassing," she says. 

On Brexit, she says there are areas of "impasse" between the UK government and the EU, but we know that officials are working together

Asked whether she wanted a no-deal or a second referendum, Davidson says: "It's a false choice."

"There is a deal there to be done - the party should be giving her the space to get on and get done with it."

Asked about Boris Johnson's use of the word "deranged" to describe the Chequers plan put forward by the PM, Davidson says she wouldn't use that particular language. 

She says if there were another referendum, she would vote to Remain in the European Union - again.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:34
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Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:37
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'Significant' number of Tory MPs would back new Brexit referendum, says Dominic GrievePM facing a 'polite rebellion' of pro-EU Tories, who think a new vote is 'indispensable' to avoiding a damaging no-deal Brexit.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 09:37

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