�* business britain is open for business once again. this mission is why we will give power to our regional mayors and leaders, get people back to work and forge a closer relationship with our neighbours in the european union, while pursuing trade deals to open up new markets, too. it is why we launched a new national wealth fund. it is why angela rayner and i have wasted no time in ripping out the blockages in our planning system so we can get britain building again. within 72 hours

of taking office we did more to block the planning system than the conservatives did in ia years. including the senseless tory ban on onshore wind. conference, we won't stop there. onshore wind to print on your energy bills. new data centres for good jobs and industries of the future and housing for the decent home that every family deserves. that is the britain we are building. that is the britain that i believe in. if you want to start or grow a business, export overseas, if you want to build in britain but feel local opposition and delay, if you have felt the quiet desperation ofjobs, opportunity and of jobs, opportunity and investment ofjobs, opportunity and investment slipping away, then be assured, your ambitions, your hopes, your future will

not be held back any longer. i have promised this whole before that what you will see in your town, in your city is a site we have not seen often enough in our country, shuffles on the ground, clinton this the sky, the signs and sights of the future arriving. we will make that a reality. jobs in the automotive sector in the heartlands of the west midlands. jobs in life sciences across the north west. clean technology across south yorkshire. ourthriving technology across south yorkshire. our thriving gaming industry in dundee. jobs in carbon capture and storage in teesside, humberside and on merseyside, too. wealth created and well shared in every part of britain. that is the price, thatis of britain. that is the price, that is the britain we are building, that is the britain that i believe in.

applause. conference, because growth must be built by the many, its proceeds must be felt by the many, too. because of the indignity and insecurity that stems from the broken link between hard work and fair reward, we will deliver on another promise, a new dealfor working people. with a ban on exploitative zero—hour contracts, and engine fire and rehire, and a minimum wage that takes into account the real cost of living so at last he will have a genuine living wage in our country. for dignity. for security. in our country. for dignity. forsecurity. for in our country. for dignity. for security. for growth. this labour government will make work pay. that is the britain we are building, that is the britain that i believe in.

applause. within weeks of entering office, we faced another choice. you could accept the independent pay review body's recommendations and get public sector workers their first above inflation pay rise in ia years or alli further industrial disruption to recover, public services. patients having hospital appointments cancelled. parents are unable to send their children to school. key workers, the men and women who kept us safe during the pandemic, forced to pay the price for a crisis they did not create. the conservatives get

new guidance to the pay review body on affordability. the conservatives will deny that this was a choice that had to be made at all. they will claim it was a viable strategy to let industrial action continue. to let a crisis in recruitment and retention spiral and let public services deteriorate yet further. that was not a choice i was willing to make and it was not a choice that was in the national interest, either. so i am proud to stand here as the first chancellor in ia years to have delivered a meaningful real pay rise for millions of public sector workers. we made that choice notjust because public sector workers needed a pay rise but because it was the right choice for parents, patients and the british public. the right choice for recruitment and retention and the right choice for our country. if the conservative party want to

fight about this, they want to argue that we should have ignored those pay review bodies, that public sector workers should fall further behind the cost of living, that ordinary families should pay the price of industrial action. if the conservative party want to fight about who can be trusted to make the right choices for a public services and those who use them, then i say bring it on. applause. public- applause. i public services applause. - public services that applause. _ public services that we applause. — public services that we can be proud of once again with the labour government, that is the britain we are building and thatis britain we are building and that is the britain that i believe in. applause. let me tell you where i am coming from. my mum and dad were primary school teachers and am really proud of that. my mum was a special needs teacher at my school and my dad was the head teacher at

a different local primary. i know how hard my mum and dad worked, how dedicated they were. the long hours they put in. my sister and replaying in my dad? officers he worked late. they had to do that in the face of a conservative government that in every action showed they didn't much about kids in schools like theirs. my mum and dad live their values and they taught me the value of public service, of hard work, giving something back to your community. ijoined this party because of three words spoken in a conference hall in blackpool 28 years ago. education, education, education. _ education. i applause. ijoined this party because i believe that strong public services are the backbone of

any decent society, because i believe that people should rise and fall on their own merits, not on the circumstances of their birth and because i believe that we do not have to choose between a fair society and a strong economy. i don't want kids to succeed against all odds. i want them to succeed because they deserve it, because the odds are stacked against them. that is the britain that i want to live in, just like every other parent wants the best for their kids. i won'tjudge my time in office as a success that i know at the end of it they are working—class kids from ordinary backgrounds who don't live richer lives. they should have their horizons expanded. that starts by taking the first steps on delivering another manifesto commitment. our promise, led by our education secretary, to introduce a free breakfast clubs in every

primary school across england. applause. today i can announce that that will start in hundreds of schools for primary schools this april. an investment in our young people, investment in our young people, in reducing child poverty, an investment in our economy. and an investment so that in years to come we can proudly say that we left behind the britain with the next generation has a chance to do better than those who came before it. conference, thatis who came before it. conference, that is the britain that we are building, that is the britain that i believe in. applause. the work of change is onlyjust beginning and the stakes are high. trust is a fragile thing.

we have seen the consequences when mainstream politics comes up when mainstream politics comes up short. it. folds to us to show that politics can be a force for positive change, not through words, but through action. through progress towards that britain of opportunity, fairness, and enterprise. that is our task, thatis enterprise. that is our task, that is my task. it comes with a great weight of responsibility. i am a great weight of responsibility. iam preset. it will mean hard work, i'm ready for it. the british people put their trust in us and we will repay it. when someone asks you does this government represent me, when they ask whose side are they own, you can tell

them, when you work hard labour will make sure you get your fair reward. when barriers obstruct opportunity and investment is restricted, labour will tear down those barriers. when working people have paid the price of tory chaos, labourwillact. have paid the price of tory chaos, labour will act. when the national interest demands hard choices, labour will not back them. we will make fair choices. for investment and opportunity and every part of britain. foran opportunity and every part of britain. for an end to the naysaying, the division, the defeatism, an end to the low investment that feeds decline, and hence to the easy answers, the empty promises and the tory stagnation. conference, you can tell them that we stand, that we will always stand with working people.

applause. we changed our party now let's change the country. this is our moment, our chance to show that politics can make a difference, that britain does my best days lie ahead, that our families, my best days lie ahead, that ourfamilies, our communities, our families, our communities, our families, our communities, our country need ourfamilies, our communities, our country need not look on while the future is built somewhere else. that we can and we will make our own future here, a britain trading, competing and leading in a changed world. a britain founded on the talent and effort of working people. that is the britain we are building. that is the britain that i believe in. together, let's go and build it! applause. thank you.

thank you. applause. you have been watching the chancellor of the exchequer giving her speech there at the

labour party conference. she said that labour was the party of economic responsibility and they would repay the trust the people have put in them. she was interrupted briefly by a protester talking about sending arms to israel. she then went on to highlight what she said was the black hole, the £22 billion black hole, that the conservative party had left her with. she talked also about the unpopular decision to restrict winter fuel payment for pensioners. she said that not everyone will agree but hard decisions must be taken. she said she promised at covid corruption commission and said there would be no return to austerity. she highlighted some of the measures that we already knew about in the manifesto, including introducing vat on private schools, and the need for making work pay, as she put it. let's bring on alex forsyth. some optimism there, but also interesting that there

are some tough decisions that she is going to have to stick to. it she is going to have to stick to. . , , to. it was interesting. the whole theme _ to. it was interesting. the whole theme of— to. it was interesting. the whole theme of the - to. it was interesting. the l whole theme of the speech, to. it was interesting. the - whole theme of the speech, she set out right at the very top when she talked about the fact that the labour party under harris chancellor and keir starmer as prime minister, when they were in opposition and all they were in opposition and all the way through to now, what they think they have done is make the public believe that labour is a party that can be trusted with their money. this was the thread running through everything else she said. she was talking about the fact that they were having to make difficult decisions. she confronted the issue of the winter fuel payment, which has proved too contentious, said she believed the right condition decision. she clearly tried to inject a note of optimism and hope throughout her speech. optimism and hope throughout herspeech. she optimism and hope throughout her speech. she was talking about the britain of the future. she was talking about getting britain building again, those planning reforms that the

party has pushed through. she said there would be shovelled on the ground and cranes in the sky. there will be jobs on the ground and cranes in the sky. there will bejobs in renewable industries. there was a gene approach from rachel reeves. she wanted to maintain what she believed as an established reputation for fiscal credibility, but at the same time conscious of the fact there has been criticism about an overly gloomy outlook. she wanted to inject a note of optimism as well. you heard touches of that throughout the speech. a couple of moments that got standing ovations and cheers from the floor, right at the top when she said she was the top when she said she was the first single chancellor of the first single chancellor of the exchequer. a little later on there was an enormous cheer for an announcement on a covid corruption commissioner to look into some of the public money that was spent during the course of the pandemic. right at the end of her speech, something we knew that was

coming, this was about breakfast clubs and schools, some think that lebron is before the general election, rachel reeves said there would be a pilot of those in a few schools that would be starting pretty eminently. she schools that would be starting pretty eminently.— pretty eminently. she talked about the — pretty eminently. she talked about the income _ pretty eminently. she talked about the income tax - pretty eminently. she talked about the income tax and . pretty eminently. she talked | about the income tax and vat and national insurance which will not be touched, but she did talk also about closing the non—dom loopholes. i suppose what people are looking for between the lines is what might between the lines is what might be affected that we don't know about yet. flit be affected that we don't know about yet-— about yet. of course, we note this is the _ about yet. of course, we note this is the rachel _ about yet. of course, we note this is the rachel reeves - this is the rachel reeves conference speech. what is still to come as the budget speech and all of the detail on public spending and tax matters that the chancellor will announce. there weren't any ankle flashes about what will come in the budget speech today, but we didn't expect it. the treasury tends to keep a pretty tight grip on the budget

before the chancellor stands up at the dispatch box and makes those announcements. you can read into the tone of what she was saying about the fact that she wants to maintain fiscal discipline, that she will not suddenly turn on the taps come the end of october. there will be people who don't agree with that approach. there is some anger at the conference from the unions who wanted to see a vote on the winter fuel payment cards. it doesn't look like that will happen. they claim they have been silenced over it. not everybody he was on board with the economic policy direction of this relatively new labour government. in the hole, which was packed, you could see the people filing out of the conference behind me, i was inside for the whole thing, it was packed, there were several standing ovations through the course of the speech, lots of applause at this deliberate temp two inject

some optimism. it is worth mentioning, right at the beginning of her speech there was a disruption from protesters in the room about arms sales to israel and the continued use of fossil fuels. they were quickly booted out by security. rachel reeves responded to that by using a line that has become familiar from labour party figures before, so we're no longer a party of protest. she then continued on to read the rest her speech. continued on to read the rest her speech-— continued on to read the rest her seech. ., ~ ,, , . her speech. thank you very much indeed for _ her speech. thank you very much indeed for that. _ her speech. thank you very much indeed for that. we _ her speech. thank you very much indeed for that. we will - her speech. thank you very much indeed for that. we will not - indeed for that. we will not talk to linda, an economist... sorry, that we are having a technical problem there. alex, thank you. let's bring in linda. thank you forjoining us. tell us your reaction to

the message, that stability for a group message that the chancellor was talking about. do you think that will work well for the economy at the moment? i well for the economy at the moment?— well for the economy at the moment? ~ , ., .,, moment? i think it is almost essential _ moment? i think it is almost essential that _ moment? i think it is almost essential that she _ moment? i think it is almost i essential that she emphasised you can't have growth without stability. she referred to liz truss, which she came to promoted growth but had not set out essentially stability, credible foundations. i think the speech was geared to the fact that they will be the most progrowth government this country has ever seen, in the words of rachel reeves. she sets out the same kind of structure that we have seen before, which is it will be tough, they inherited a tough position. looking ahead, they will not return to austerity. for them not to return to austerity and still have that fiscal discipline requires the

economy to grow and i think a lot of speech speech reiterated what was in the manifesto, given some colour about what we might expect with the budget. then of course, as with all speeches it is key to end on an optimistic note over where we could go as a country, focused on how they are dedicated, committed to planning reform, for instance, as well as infrastructure investment. she talked about _ infrastructure investment. she talked about confronting the blocks that are put in the way of planning. how quickly do you think they can make things change? these are problems that have been deep—seated for a number of years. have been deep-seated for a number of years. absolutely. she said that _ number of years. absolutely. she said that they _ number of years. absolutely. she said that they have - she said that they have embarked on some very quick actions. the minute they came into power at the two things they focused on creating the national wealth fund, so the investment for growth foundations, and planning

reform. planning reform has been contentious for a long time. i think for her governments, the labour government, harris chancellor, and you cannot have more investment in things like infrastructure, even green infrastructure, even green infrastructure, unless you have planning reform. you can deliver new homes unless you have planning reform. i can see why this is one of the first things i have tackled. you need people to be brought with you and you need a lot of consultation because it affects quite a lot of the population, which is why it has been so hard to get going. a planning doesn't happen, a lot of the investments she is describing, they will struggle to get it off the ground. planning is the precursor to growth. {siege off the ground. planning is the precursor to growth.— precursor to growth. give us the context _ precursor to growth. give us the context within _ precursor to growth. give us the context within the - precursor to growth. give us i the context within the country with the economic indicators.

we had the bank of england holding interest rates at 5%, not cutting them. if they do cut them again in november, will that make a difference as to how quickly the country can grow? what impact does that have on the chancellormy clients? it have on the chancellormy clients? ., , ., ., clients? it would help a lot. 596 clients? it would help a lot. 5% interest _ clients? it would help a lot. 5% interest rates _ clients? it would help a lot. 596 interest rates are - 5% interest rates are restrictive. the cost of borrowing is higherfor people, for their mortgages, consumer borrowing, businesses to invest. for rates to come down it would be very helpful. one of the reasons why the bank of england has embarked on a rate cutting cycle is because the economy is flat. we spoke about how labour would get the economy going, and forecasts are it will grow, but at the moment the economy is stagnant. with rates coming down that will help. the us has cut rates, that is a bid determinant of the cost of capital which is a crucial indicatorfor capital which is a crucial indicator for businesses look at when they want to invest,

and when the bank of england meets in november. there will be keeping a close eye on the budget on the 30th of october because what the government does on the fiscal side, that may make the bank of england think they need to slow down the rest rate cuts. at the moment we are looking at slowing growth through the rest of the next few months. the bank of england thinks that growth could still choose much as an open i%, but with rates coming down, depending what happens on the fiscal side, more investment would help growth. more investment would help . rowth. more investment would help urowth. , , ., growth. the nurses have rejected _ growth. the nurses have rejected the _ growth. the nurses havej rejected the government growth. the nurses have - rejected the government does not pay award of — 5% rise. rachel reeve talked in a speech about settling some of the disputes, with the train drivers, and so on. with the

nurses rejecting a 5.5% rise, how difficult will it be to keep a lid on spending if there are demands and unions to increase the amount they are paid? increase the amount they are aid? , , ., ., paid? this is one of the trickiest _ paid? this is one of the trickiest things. - paid? this is one of the trickiest things. there i paid? this is one of the | trickiest things. there is paid? this is one of the i trickiest things. there is a paid? this is one of the - trickiest things. there is a 22 billion pounds black hole. half of that is because of above inflation public pay rises. it will be a contributor to public spending, but on the other hand looking at how challenging it is to deliver public services, especially during a period there has been a period where we are struggled to keep up. rachel reeves is going to have spending pressures increasing in the public sector in these areas. in orderfor her not in the public sector in these areas. in order for her not to have austerity, and hysterically roughly means cutting public spending,

will have to look for tax increases. whatever growth we might have will not happen over the next few months. this is where she also said that they will protect working people because my taxes. there may well be taxes on wealthier people were other areas. i would say, looking ahead, it looks like much of the government bodies, the obr as well, they are excited by the idea of investing for growth. if she could borrowjust idea of investing for growth. if she could borrow just to invest, that could take some pressure of the day—to—day spending. pressure of the day-to-day spending-— pressure of the day-to-day sendina. . ~' , . spending. thank you very much indeed, linda. _ spending. thank you very much indeed, linda. a _ spending. thank you very much indeed, linda. a quick- spending. thank you very much indeed, linda. a quick look- spending. thank you very much indeed, linda. a quick look at l indeed, linda. a quick look at the weather now. hello. the weather is continuing to cause some significant disruption out there. we've got some intense rainfall that is leading to flooding problems for some across parts of central and southern england in particular. here's the radar from the past few hours showing where we've had the heaviest of the rain already. it's been particularly

persistent for parts of central and southern england here, where we do have an amber warning in force from the met office. that's valid until 9.00pm this evening for the likes of bristol, northampton, as well. we've already seen some severe flooding and i think it's not going to improve in a hurry as that rainfalljust continues to be persistent and slow moving. it is all down to this area of low pressure. eventually, it will start to ease away towards the east as we head through into the evening hours, but we've certainly got another few hours of rainfall across the region. also some wet weather for parts of northern england, the far north of scotland too, but elsewhere some drier conditions as we head through this evening and overnight, as well. a lot of cloud through the uk tonight, so we're not going to be seeing a particularly chilly night. temperatures holding up between about eight to 13 degrees to start your tuesday morning. tuesday's weather does improve certainly compared to today as that low pressure clears towards the east. still a bit of early rainfall for parts of east anglia and the south—east. more wet weather moving in across northern and eastern parts of scotland, where it is also going to be quite breezy, as well. for the rest of the uk, sunny spells, a few showers around, but certainly not as heavy

or as frequent as we've seen over the past few days. top temperatures between about ten to 18 degrees north to south on tuesday. looking towards the middle of the week, we've got another area of low pressure on the way, this time approaching from the south—west. there is a bit of uncertainty about exactly when and where we're going to be seeing that rainfall by wednesday, but it does look like eventually it will start to turn pretty wet across parts of southern england. the breeze will certainly pick up through the english channel, as well. the rest of the uk having a little bit of a better day, so some sunshine, perhaps the odd shower around. it is starting to feel a bit cooler, though, for northern areas particularly, at around about ten to 13 degrees. in the south, about 16 or 17. all that wet weather gradually shifts its way a little bit further north. as we move through the overnight period and through thursday, it looks like much of england and wales will see further spells of fairly heavy rain. gusty winds around some of that wet weather. scotland and northern ireland probably faring a little bit better with sunny spells and scattered showers. ii to 16 degrees by thursday, so those temperatures gradually coming down through the course of the week. by the end of the week it looks

like the worst of the rainfall will tend to ease away, but those temperatures on the cool side by. today at one, no return tours so it

is as a chancellor in a speech at the labour party conference. does no return towards austerity. rachel reeves tried to strike a more upbeat tone than in recent weeks say she is optimistic about the future of the british economy. believe you when i said, my optimism —— optimism for britain but is brighter than ever. and also on the programme this lunchtime. the rising tide of knife crime, new figures show that the number of knives, swords and machetes logged by police in england and wales is almost doubled —— but has almost doubled in five years. torrential rain it brings flooding to parts of england with the of more to parts of england with the of more to come. supermarket price wars, why like for like comparison is not always what they seem? coming up on the bbc news, sponsorship is doubling for the women's super league and the championship, buckley sign up for three more years in a £45 sign up for three more years in a

£16 million deal.