Conference diary, day two part two: the Chancellor's speech

Far and away the best speech of the conference so far, based both on my own humble opinion and the fact that it received the most enthusiastic standing ovation, was that of the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

Here is an extract from an email he sent to me (and no doubt to everyone else attending the conference) later today.

"I opened the afternoon session at Conference by announcing more measures to back British workers and taxpayers.
And it's thanks to this economic recovery, and the long-term decisions we've made to halve inflation, that we're able to announce another increase in the National Living Wage to at least £11 an hour.

That's a pay rise for 2 million workers, and it means that the wages of the lowest paid are on average £9,000 a year higher than they were in 2010.

Furthermore, I'm saving taxpayers' money by transitioning Britain to a more productive state, not a bigger state. 

We're also freezing the expansion of the civil service, and putting in place a plan to reduce its' numbers to pre-pandemic levels. This will save the British government £1 billion next year.

If you work hard, a Conservative government will always have your back. 

And today we're sending a clear message that it's only the Conservatives who can be trusted to take the difficult decisions for a brighter future.

Yours sincerely, 

Jeremy Hunt

Chancellor of the Exchequer"

You can watch the Chancellor's speech on Youtube, preceded by an introduction from the Chairman of the National Conservative Convention and a short video. The speech by Jeremy Hunt starts 8 minutes and ten seconds into the clip to which you will be taken by the following link:

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt speaking at #CPC23 in Manchester - YouTube