UK politics live: Badenoch vows to ‘make Starmer sweat’ as Jenrick promises big migration cut in Tory speeches

Kemi Badenoch refused to take questions from the media after her speech, Millie Cooke reports from the conference.

While the three other candidates all spoke to journalists after their conference addresses, Ms Badenoch instead sent out four of her supporting MPs to take questions from the press.

Asked repeatedly where the former business secretary was, and why she wasn’t speaking to the press, Badenoch-backer Chris Philp said she had already done “lots of interviews with journalists”.

The Tory leadership contender was mobbed by reporters as she left the conference centre but still refused to answer questions.

Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to put the UK-EU relationship back on a “stable, positive footing” as he met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.

The Prime Minister said: “I firmly believe that the British public want to return to pragmatic, sensible leadership when it comes to dealing with our closest neighbours, to make Brexit work and to deliver in their interests, to find ways to boost economic growth, strengthen our security and tackle shared challenges like irregular migration and climate change.”

He added that “in dangerous times we have a duty to work together to preserve stability and security,” referring to the crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

Sir Keir said: “We are determined to put this relationship back on a stable, positive footing that I think we all want to see.”

Sir Keir Starmer has just arrived to Brussels to meet president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

In a joint statement ahead of their meeting, Ms von der Leyen said that she is “very glad” to meet the prime minister again after their bilateral at the UN last week.

Both leaders “strongly condemned” Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel last night and said that the “spiral of violence is threatening the lives of innocent civilians”.

Adding to her statement, Sir Keir declared that the UK stands with Israel and its “right to defend itself”.

The Labour Party has reacted to the speeches made by the Tory leadership candidates.

Commons leader Lucy Powell described the Conservative Party conference as “chaotic and divisive mess” and claimed the four rivals “played a part in the chaos and decline over the last 14 years”.

She added: “They have learnt nothing from their abysmal defeat at the general election.

“From attacking maternity pay or the minimum wage, to criticising our armed forces - these are dangerous and reckless ideas, from Tory leadership contenders who are out of touch with what matters to the British people.”

Kemi Badenoch has now concluded her speech.

All four candidates are on stage together taking applause from the Conservative members of the audience.

The Tory conference is now ending with a rendition of the national anthem.

Ending her speech, Kemi Badenoch said: “After we have picked and unpicked the damage done by the Labour government, my vision for beyond 2030 is this - for Britain to be a country where people can find a shared identity, four nations but one United Kingdom.

“A country where being a British citizen means more than just having a British passport. A country where people can be committed to each other, irrespective of their religion or what they look like. A Britain that its friends with its neighbours but will always proudly protect its national interests.

“A Britain at ease with itself, a Britain that believes in itself. And that sort of Britain can only come about because of renewed Conservative principles. And the time to start that renewal is right now.”

Directly appealing to voting members, Kemi Badenoch said: “If I become leader we will immediately begin a once-in-a-generation undertaking, the sort of project not attempted since the days of Keith Joseph in the 1970s.

“A comprehensive plan to reprogramme the British state, to reboot the British economy, a new blueprint for the great machine of our country. One that goes far beyond our relationship with the EU or the ECHR. A new plan that considers every aspect of what the state does and why it does it.

“A plan built on the principles and priorities of our nation. A plan that looks at our international agreements, at the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act, at judicial review, at judicial activism, at the Bank of England, at the Treasury, at the devolution, at quangos, and at the health service.”