Hunt speech overshadowed by revelation HS2 WILL be scrapped – Tory conference live

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the government will increase the national living wage to at least £11 an hour next year.

He told the Tory conference in Manchester: “To make sure work continues to pay, today I take a step forward towards completing another great Conservative reform: the national living wage.

“Since we introduced it, nearly two million people have been lifted from absolute poverty after housing costs, not by tax credits, or benefits, but by removing the barriers to work, boosting salaries, cutting tax, making work pay.

“We promised in our manifesto to raise the national living wage to two-thirds of median income, ending low pay in this country.

“At the moment, it’s £10.42 an hour and we’re waiting for the Low Pay Commission to tell us next year’s recommendation. But I confirm today, whatever that recommendation, we will increase the national living wage to at least £11 an hour next year.

“That’s a pay rise for two million workers and the wages of the lowest paid over £9,000 higher than they were in 2010 because if you work hard, a Conservative government will always have your back.”

Jeremy Hunt has defended his decision to prioritise cutting inflation instead of the tax cuts demanded by some Tories.

The chancellor told the Conservative Party conference: “Right now, we are focused on bringing down inflation. Nothing hurts families more when it comes to the weekly shop, heating bills or pump prices, which is why the Prime Minister has pledged to halve it.

“We’re getting there – it was 11 per cent, it’s now down by 40 per cent – the plan is working and now we must see it through, just as Margaret Thatcher did many years ago.

“When we halve inflation, that’s not a 1 per cent income tax cut, that’s a 5 per cent boost to incomes compared to if it stayed the same.”

Speaking amid reports confiming plans to kick the northern leg of HS2 into the long grass, Jeremy Hunt told those gathered for his speech at Tory conference that the “pessimists and decliners” should not “bet against Britain”, as “it’s been tried before and it never works”.

Speaking from the main stage, the chancellor said: “The last time I spoke at conference was as foreign secretary five years ago, after that I thought my time in government was over. So, it’s great to see the PM getting the over-50s back into meaningful work.”

He added: “Our friends at the Office for National Statistics have recently changed their mind about the size of the British economy. They had been saying we were the worst performing large European economy since the pandemic.

“But we weren’t the worst, we were one of the best. Since the pandemic, we have recovered better than France or Germany. We’ve grown faster than both of them since we left the single market.”

He went on: “So, to all the pessimists and decliners who have been talking us down, we say this: don’t bet against Britain. It’s been tried before and it never works.”

In 2013, HS2 was estimated to cost £37.5bn in 2009 prices, but the sums have continued to spiral.

A budget of £55.7bn for the whole of HS2 was set in 2015 but some reports suggest costs have now surpassed £100bn, having been driven up by recent inflation rises.

The target cost excluding the eastern leg of Phase 2b from the West Midlands to the East Midlands has soared to between £53bn and £61bn (at 2019 prices).

As of June, the total amount spent sat at £24.7bn (at 2019 prices).

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, the chancellor said people’s bank accounts should not be closed because of their political views.

After Nigel Farage claimed his upmarket Coutts account was shuttered in revenge for his role delivering Brexit, Mr Hunt said ministers will tighten the law to “stop people being denied bank accounts for having the wrong political views”.

The chancellor has promised to freeze the size of the civil service in order to save £1bn.

Jeremy Hunt said Britain has 66,000 more civil servants than before the pandemic, promising a plan to reduce the overall number of people working in the civil service

The chancellor has said the level of tax in Britain is “too high”, blaming the “once in a century pandemic” and the “biggest energy crisis in a generation.

Jeremy Hunt said in order to bring taxes down the government would prioritise making spending “more productive”.

Jeremy Hunt has called for Barbie to wear a Union Jack in any future movies, because the recent blockbuster was filmed in Britain.

The chancellor hailed British innovations such as the life-saving Covid vaccines, three “huge” electric car factories and the UK’s film and TV production industry.

And he said: “Next time, I want to see Barbie wearing a Union Jack, because that too was filmed in Britain.”

Our political correspondents, Adam Forrest, Jon Stone and Archie Mitchell report:

Rishi Sunak has shelved the northern leg of HS2 – weeks after The Independent revealed he held secret talks with chancellor Jeremy Hunt about axing the project.

The Independent understands the Manchester leg of the high-speed rail project has been pushed back by at least seven years as part of a bid to scrap the project in the long term.

It means the line will not make it past Birmingham and the northern city will no longer get a new connection to London, a move set to spark fury among northern business leaders, MPs and mayors.

A source close to the government discussions said that Mr Sunak would announce the northern leg had been shelved at the Tory conference in Manchester – mostly likely in his Wednesday speech, though it could be brought forward to Tuesday.

The source said there would be some “reallocation” of HS2 money to the east-west rail projects known as Northern Powerhouse Rail.

No 10 denied any final decisions had been made, but The Independent understands plans are under way to finalise the compromise over Northern Powerhouse Rail so the announcement can be made before the Tory conference ends.

Mr Bray – known for his daily protests outside Westminster – was removed from a meeting hosted by the Bruges Group think tank on the fringe of the event in Manchester.