Markus Andrews

The Conservative Party conference has historically been a magnet for protesters, from climate change activists to opponents of Partygate. But as Kemi Badenoch hosts its annual gathering in Manchester this week, the streets around the convention centre are eerily quiet. Protesters, even including the notorious anti-Brexit demonstrator Steve Bray, have not bothered to show up, in a sign of the fading relevance of the Tories under Ms Badenoch. Notorious anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray has not come to Tory conference More

Watch: Moment Kemi Badenoch asked if Reform UK have stolen Tory thunderRobert Jenrick has slammed Liz Truss’ mini-Budget as “careless” and “unconservative” as he said the Tory party must accept its mistakes.The shadow justice secretary told a packed-out room at the Conservative party conference ex-prime minister Ms Truss made “big mistakes”, adding the party must be “honest” if it is to rebuild public trust.He added he thought the UK should aim for “net emigration” in order to “give the country some breathing space” in a far-reaching call that goes beyond Reform UK’s Nigel Farage’s policies.But he dismissed any notion of leadership ambitions, telling his audience Kemi Badenoch would lead the Tories into the next election.It comes after the shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride addressed a half-empty hall on Monday morning as the conference continued at Manchester Central Convention Centre.The shadow chancellor pledged to offer young people a £5,000 “first job bonus” as he sought to position the Tories as the party of “fiscal responsibility”.He also unveiled proposals to slash £47 billion of government spending if the party win power, and promised to abolish business rates for high street shops and pubs.Cleverly fails to draw a crowdPolitical correspondent Archie Mitchell reports…James Cleverly has failed to draw a crowd for his conference speech, with the shadow housing secretary looking out at a sea of empty seats.There is a man towards the back of the hall who is actually asleep, which sums up the mood in the room well.Mr Cleverly has embarked on a rambling attack against Steve Reed, his government counterpart who he accused of being useless.But even the lines he wants to land are drawing limited applause at best. It’s not a great look for the former future star of the Tory Party.( More

One of Nigel Farage’s closest allies has suggested the Tories will merge with Reform UK after the next general election under Robert Jenrick’s leadership. Gawain Towler, who began working for Mr Farage as a Ukip press officer in 2004 and sits on the Reform governing board, said Mr Jenrick and a handful of remaining Tory MPs would abandon the Conservative Party in favour of Reform. Mr Towler, who was Reform’s director of communications until last year, said Mr Jenrick would not want to lead “a rump party”. Gawain Towler is one of Nigel Farage’s longest-serving aides More

Sir Keir Starmer has urged students not to attend pro-Palestine protests on the second anniversary of the “heinous” October 7 terror attacks on Israel and just days after two people were killed at a synagogue in Manchester.Hundreds were arrested at a Palestine Action demonstration in London on Saturday, which went ahead despite calls from Sir Keir and others in the wake of the attack on British soil, leading Amnesty International to say it should not be the job of police to arrest people “peacefully sitting down”.Thousands of students are expected to attend rallies on Tuesday on the second anniversary of the atrocity in which 1,200 people were killed.But the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Just because there is freedom to protest does not mean you should necessarily go ahead with these gatherings, given the context.” A Palestine Action march at the weekend saw hundreds of people arrested in London More

The Conservatives have vowed to abolish business rates for high street shops and pubs should they secure victory in the upcoming general election.Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride made the commitment at the Conservative Party conference on Monday, arguing the “burden of Labour’s tax rises” had been “simply too much to bear” for many businesses.Pledging to “get business rates down”, he said: “I can announce that as a direct result of getting public spending under control, a future Conservative government will completely abolish business rates for shops and pubs on our high street.” He added: “End of. Finished. Gone.”The policy is expected to cost £4 billion, with the Conservatives arguing it would help protect jobs, particularly for young people, at 250,000 businesses across the country.Setting out what he called a “radical plan to rebuild our economy”, he pledged that the Tories would “always be there” for businesses.Sir Mel Stride made the commitment at the Conservative Party conference on Monday More