Theresa May speech - live updates: Labour accuses dancing Conservative leader of 'pinching' ideas, after she declares end of austerity
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Theresa May has declared "austerity is over" in her keynote address to the Conservative conference, where she also warns splits over Brexit risked derailing Britain's departure from the EU.
In what was one of the most important speeches of her political career, the prime minister borrowed Jeremy Corbyn's "for the many, not the few," slogan, declaring the Conservatives are a "party not for the few, not even the many, but for everyone who is willing to work hard and do their best."
The prime minister strutted onto the stage to Abba's Dancing Queen - to mock herself grooving on a recent trip to Africa - and also included a self-deprecating joke about last year's disastrous conference address.
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Theresa May will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's disastrous conference speech, where she was interrupted by a prankster, the set fell apart behind her and she was plagued by an insistent cough.
Indy sketchwriter Tom Peck has done a great interview with Simon Brodkin - who gave the PM her P45 - about *that* speech.
Read his piece here:
Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has addressed activists at conference amid controversy over his comments on multiculturalism.
The Guardian reported that he said diversity robbed the UK of its sense of community and had turned London into a "cesspool of crime".
He described current mayor Sadiq Khan as "Showbiz Sadiq", who's "more interested in appearing on the front page than he is defending the front line".
"He's more interested in building hype than building homes, he's more interested in his career than he is defending our communities.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you showbiz Sadiq, a man for the red carpet, not for the streets and he has destroyed the Conservative's legacy in London."
Bailey said it was going to be a struggle to win but he knows the life that Londoners live and can speak to them.
Excellent start to Theresa May's conference speech - Sky News is reporting James Duddridge has submitted a letter to 1922 committee calling on the PM to resign, claiming he has “not met a single MP who thinks she will lead us into another election”
"I write this with heavy heart however we now need a proper leadership election and to move on."
Mr Duddridge, the MP for Rochford and Southend East, said in his letter that the Conservatives need "a strong leader, someone who believes in Brexit and someone to deliver what the electorate voted for".
And he added: "The prime minister seems incapable of doing this. I have not met a single MP who thinks she will lead us into another election after the last disastrous snap election.
"We will fail to cut through on issues other than Brexit until we are beyond Brexit, yet the can is kicked further and further down the road.
"I write this with heavy heart, however we now need a proper leadership election and to move on."
Geoffrey Cox, attorney general, is now introducing proceedings. He's very much looking forward to 11pm on 29 March 2019 - the date Britain leaves the European Union.
"That is why I accepted her request to join government. It will take a dogged, single-minded determination of purpose. But in the real nothing so valuable is gained without sacrifice & compromise"
Theresa May just came on the stage dancing to ABBA.... yes, dancing.
She says she has been up all night super glueing the backdrop of the stage - "There are some things about last year's conference I want to forget, but I will always remember the warmth in the hall."
She says, this year marks the centenary of WW1.
She says the lesson of that remarkable WW1 generation, "there is no limit to what we can achieve, the future is on our hands".
She also highlighted the efforts to rebuild in the wake of the Second World War "where former enemies become friends".
She said: "We must recapture that spirit of common purpose because the lesson of that remarkable generation is clear: if we come together there is no limit to what we can achieve.
"Our future is in our hands."
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