James Cleverly apologises for Tory election defeat as leadership hopefuls make conference speeches – UK politics live

James Cleverly got a much louder applause than Tugendhat after his speech.

But it was a shout from an audience member as he left that caught the ear.

“Crown the emperor!” shouted the man.

Nobody was sure if he meant Cleverly had no clothes (metaphorically at least).

James Cleverly has promised to “deliver for the British people” and “unite the party around Conservative values”.

He said: “I can hold Labour to account for their failures and take us back into Government in four short years. Because the people in this room standing for election in May can’t wait a day longer than is necessary for us to get our house in order. There is no time to lose and I don’t lose.”

Ending his speech, he added: “Let’s unite, let’s rebuild this party of ours council by council, seat by seat, ward by ward, street by street, one party with one purpose. To turn the page on this useless Labour Government, to get to government, to look to the future with one voice and say that it is morning once again in this great country of ours.

“That must be our mission. That must be our purpose. So join me on this journey, and together we will win and we will be in the business of the future. Thank you.”

James Cleverly appeared to target fellow Tory candidate Robert Jenrick over immigration.

The former home secretary said: “I didn’t complain about immigration or walk away from the challenge, I got it down by 300,000 people a year. I deported foreign criminals and terrorists.”

Mr Jenrick has previously criticised Rishi Sunak over his approach on migration.

He added: “I stripped citizenship from those who seek to do us harm and I supported our Jewish community here in the UK, tightening the policing response to the protests about Gaza and holding the police accountable for their actions and their inactions.”

“Now is not the time for an apprentice”, James Cleverly has warned in his pitch to become the next Conservative Party leader.

The former home secretary looked to his previously held roles in government in an attempt to persuade the party faithful that he is qualified for the job.

He said: “Leadership is about things like making the tough decisions when you get that ugly phone call in the middle of the night about keeping this country safe.

“And because I’ve been there, because I know in detail what the government should be doing right now, I know in detail how they’re failing.”

“Now is not the time for an apprentice”, Mr Cleverly added.

James Cleverly has reminded Tory members about historic Conservative majorities at previous general elections.

He said: “Yes, you, we won the biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher. We got Boris elected and we got Brexit done. And that whirlwind apprenticeship showed me what I need to do to fix our party machine, upgrade it, making it a modern campaigning organisation.”

Mr Cleverly told the conference: “My pledge to you today on candidate selection – no more stitch-ups.”

James Cleverly has re-committed to axing stamp duty on home purchases if he becomes the new Tory leader.

He said the country needs to “get rid of bad taxes like stamp duty” and ensure work “always pays”.

The Tory hopeful added: “Let’s be the market of free markets and freedom, of business and enterprise, let’s get on their side but out of their way. These are my values, these are consistent values not opportunistic. A signpost, not a weather vane. It’s what I have always believed in and what I always will believe in.

“Because conference, talk is easy. Doing is hard. And we need a leader who can deliver from day one. Someone who has already done the tough apprenticeship that you need to be the leader of the Conservative Party and our next prime minister.”

James Cleverly received the largest applause of the morning so far after he vowed never to merge with Reform UK, dubbing it a “pale imitation of our great party”, Millie Cooke reports from the conference.

“No mergers, no deals”, he said, promising to beat Nigel Farage’s party at the next election if the Conservatives become the best version of themselves.

Mr Cleverly said: “Never forget – Reform didn’t deliver Brexit. We did. Reform didn’t cut immigration, I did. And mark my words, we will beat reform by being the best version of ourselves.”

Shifting his attack towards the Liberal Democrats, James Cleverly has said the party was “too wet” to hold them to account.

He then joked: “In the case of Ed Davey, soaking wet.”

Now attacking the Labour Party, James Cleverly said that the Labour Party is “drunk on power” an accused Sir Keir Starmer of “lying to the British people”.

The former home secretary added: “Compare that with what we saw at the Labour Party conference just last week. A party drunk on power who lied to the British people. Glasses for passes, favours for friends, swamped in scandal.

“And even worse inflation-busting pay rises to their union paymasters taken straight out of the pockets of British pensioners. Our plans for defence, reversed, a mass release of prisoners, and no plan for our borders.

“And what did Keir Starmer say just last week? He wants the state to have more control over your lives, a nanny state, closing pubs early, banning smoking outdoors and even trying to control the price of Oasis tickets.”

The Tory contender told the party conference: “Even in the depths of the Cold War he made Americans want to vote for a conservative, not reluctantly, but with enthusiasm. And then what did he do? He cut taxes, he cut regulation, he boosted military spending and he won a landslide.

“So let’s be more like Reagan, let’s be enthusiasm, relatable, positive, optimistic. Let’s be more normal. Let’s sell the benefits of conservatism with a smile.”