James Heale

Kemi Badenoch wrapped up Conservative conference with a well-received speech that was bursting with policy ideas. The Tory leader's hour-long address in Manchester was intended as a rejoinder to critics of her leadership. Having been accused of lacking spirit, imagination and vigour, Badenoch today demonstrated all three. The main headline grabbing announcement was her plan to abolish stamp duty – a surprise ‘rabbit’ that sparked a standing ovation. Had her speech been a disaster, one can imagine a flurry of letters being triggered by nervy Tory MPs The £9 billion commitment would be funded from the £47 billion savings shadow chancellor Mel Stride unveiled earlier this week.

It is day three of Conservative Party conference and the punchiest speech of the event has just been made. Robert Jenrick, the heat-seeking missile of the Tory front bench, has just delivered another howitzer aimed squarely at Britain’s judiciary. Brandishing a judge’s wig, he addressed the conference faithful with the vim and vigour that have seen him soar to the top of the ConservativeHome shadow cabinet league table. Jenrick’s twenty-minute address – the last before Kemi Badenoch’s big speech tomorrow – was a full throttle, studs-up attack on what he calls ‘activist’ judges.

The Conservative party conference kicks off today in Manchester. Dominating the headlines is the long-awaited announcement that the next Tory government would pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In a break with recent conferences, leader Kemi Badenoch will be making two speeches. The first this afternoon will set out what ECHR-exit would look like. The second on Wednesday will deal with more of what George Bush Sr. called ‘the vision thing’: Badenoch’s big picture for Britain. ‘Stronger economy, stronger borders’ is the party’s slogan for the four-day jamboree. That reflects the two-pronged approach that senior Tory strategists believe is the only way back to power.

Like the new school year, ambassadors to Britain usually change each September. Among those leaving this summer are the German, Swiss and Canadian representatives; their successors will shortly begin limbering up on the cocktail circuit, eager to make their social mark. The man they will have to beat is the US ambassador, Warren Stephens. His great advantage is Winfield House, his palatial private residence, which boasts the second-largest garden in the capital after Buckingham Palace. Every year, the London elite pile in here to toast the Fourth of July. At this year’s Independence bash, Stephens made his mark with spectacular fireworks and a star-spangled smorgasbord of food from across the fifty US states.

Labour conference has begun this weekend in Liverpool under something of a cloud. The run-up to the five-day shindig has been dominated by questions about old donations and Andy Burnham’s intentions. A slew of poor polls suggest the party has gone badly off track after 14 months in office. But following a summer in which many of his party felt that he had gone missing in action, Keir Starmer appears to now be channeling Donald Trump’s mantra: fight, fight, fight. The Prime Minister used an interview with the BBC this morning to come out swinging, taking aim at his critics both inside and outside the Labour party. It is an approach that will resonate with some of his demoralised backbenchers who are, in the words of one, ‘waiting for a lead’.

The Labour party returns to Liverpool this weekend for its annual four-day jamboree. Twelve months after a dismal conference, dominated by discussions about donations, drift and dire decisions, most party activists will be disappointed that the situation has not improved. In 2024, the story was the controversial then-chief of staff Sue Gray and ‘freebiegate’ – the row over the multi-thousand-pound clothes Keir Starmer accepted from Labour donor, Lord Alli. In 2025, it will be the futures of Starmer and Gray’s successor, Morgan McSweeney. Both men are under intense pressure amid doubts about their chosen political strategy. ‘It's going to be a shitshow,’ says one MP who has decided to skip the conference.

After a summer of drift, Labour today launches a fresh fightback against the rise of Reform UK. Leading the charge is Steve Reed, the recently promoted Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). In an interview with Michael Gove for The Spectator’s YouTube channel, he explained the thinking behind his department’s new ‘Pride in Place’ programme. A reported £3.4 billion will be pumped into struggling communities over the next decade to try and to resurrect the British high street. You can watch the full interview below. Reed’s argument is simple: if communities are stronger, they are less likely to turn away from Labour and vote for Reform. ‘Nigel Farage weaponises grievance’, Reed says.

Labour conference begins on Sunday. Keir Starmer is under fire, besieged by all sides. The party’s left think he is a fraud; the party’s right believe him to be incompetent. All agree that he is rudderless and fear he is leading Labour to defeat. So it is with exquisite timing then that Andy Burnham has done a big glossy interview with the New Statesman, who stick him on the front of their cover, four days before the Prime Minister meets with his mutinous members up in Liverpool. The Mayor of Greater Manchester’s intervention is predictably unhelpful for Starmer. Amid plenty of wistful musings about the joys of Northern England, Burnham signals his discontent with the direction of this government.