The Spectator

A FAIR AND REASONABLE COMPROMISE: UK PROPOSALS FOR A NEW PROTOCOL ON IRELAND/NORTHERN IRELAND There is now very little time in which to negotiate a new Agreement between the UK and the EU under Article 50. We need to get this done before the October European Council. This Government wants to get a deal, as I am sure we all do. If we cannot reach one, it would represent a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. Our predecessors have tackled harder problems: we can surely solve this one. Both sides now need to consider whether there is sufficient willingness to compromise and move beyond existing positions to get us to an agreement in time.

Priti Patel is the big draw on the main stage at Tory conference today. But there is plenty happening on the fringes too. Here are the highlights on day three: Main agenda: 10.00 - 12.15: Forging Stronger Communities 14.00: Social Justice in Action 14.45: Shaun Bailey, Tory London Mayoral candidate 2020 15.00: Toughening Up Our Criminal Justice System Robert Buckland Brandon Lewis Lucy Frazer  15.45: Priti Patel, Home Secretary   Fringe events: 09.00: With one month to go until Brexit, how prepared are Britain’s key transport links? Chris Heaton-Harris; Doug Bannister (chief executive, Port of Dover); Manchester Central: Central 5 09.15: Moggcast Live Jacob Rees-Mogg; Paul Goodman; Manchester Central: Conservative Home Marquee 10.

It's Sajid Javid's time to shine on the second day of Conservative party conference. Today will be Javid's first major speech as Chancellor, after his first outing was pulled by Number 10 in August. Here are the highlights on the main stage and on the fringes: Main agenda: 10.00: Boosting our Public Services Rishi Sunak MP, Matt Hancock MP, Thérèse Coffey MP 10.45: Creating a World Class Education System Gavin Williamson MP 11.20: Spreading Opportunity Across the Country Esther McVey MP, Nadhim Zahawi MP, Jake Berry MP 14.00: Growing our Economy and Protecting our Environment Andrea Leadsom MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Theresa Villiers MP 14.45: Chancellor of the Exchequer speech Sajid Javid MP 15.

It is a great honour to be speaking at this conference. I, like many of you have belonged to this party since I was a mere youth - and I was once a youth. I have sat in these seats since the days conferences were held at the seaside and I am glad that the members are once again rightly the focus of these sessions. It was here in Manchester that Disraeli captured the essence of Conservative principles in his 1872 speech at the Free Trade Hall, when he set out our priorities for the constitution and the condition of the people, especially their health. He also noted that the audience he was addressing was of the highest intelligence, but not one that could compete with the brilliance, the luminescence of this gathering here today. As he knew, the Conservative Party is a grassroots party.

This is an extraordinary and precarious moment in our country’s history. The Prime Minister has been found to have acted illegally when he tried to shut down parliament.The highest court in the land has found that Boris Johnson broke the law when he tried to shut down democratic accountability at a crucial moment for our public life. The Prime Minister acted illegally when he tried to shut down opposition to his reckless and disastrous plan to crash out of the European Union without a deal. But he has failed. He will never shut down our democracy or silence the voices of the people. The democracy that Boris Johnson describes as a “rigmarole” will not be stifled and the people will have their say. Tomorrow parliament will return.