and if we are the best version of ourselves, if we sell conservative values, if we are proud of our record and confident in our future, we will win the country because nige farage and keir starmer are two sides of the same coin —— nigel. they both think that life was better in the past. nigel farage thinks life was better before we joined the eu, keir starmerthinks life was better before we joined the eu, keir starmer thinks life is better before we left, and they are both wrong, our best days are ahead of us. just as my parents were in the business of the future, i am in

the business of the future, i am in the business of the future, i am in the business of the future. we need to reject this 1970s attitude that decline is somehow inevitable but perhaps we should just —— that perhaps we should just —— that perhaps we should just —— that perhaps we should just fall off the purchase slowly —— off the perch. we need to direct our view to the road ahead, not the rear—view mirror. so, conference, how are we going to face the great challenges of our time? the way we always have done when we succeed, by being forced off again __ by succeed, by being forced off again —— by being for stuff again. we gave

the world the vaccine twice, the steam engine, the light bulb, the world wide web, the tank, the people who split the atom. we need more, yes, we can, both from our party and from our country. we need to build more homes so we can build a new generation of optimism in the tradition of mcmillan and thatcher. we need to cut the cost of childcare so people can build a family. we need to build the infrastructure and transport we need more cheaply and quickly. we need to build, build, build and remake the argument for conservativism, for capitalism, by our actions, conservativism, for capitalism, by ouractions, notjust conservativism, for capitalism, by our actions, notjust our words.

and we need to get rid of bad taxes like stamp duty. we need to make sure that work always pays. we need to make sure that work always pays and that the state never takes more than half of any pound that you have earned. . and let's be the party of free markets and freedom. of business and of 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. opportunistic. a signpost, not a weathervane. it's opportunistic. a signpost, not a weather vane. it's what i have always believed in and it's what i always believed in and it's what i always will believe in because talk

is easy. doing is hard. and we need a leader that 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. i learned the conservatives on the london assembly, where a reformed and upgraded the london fire brigade, taking on the unions and winning. that was a tough apprenticeship. 0n the metropolitan police authority, i kicked out corrupt coppers, and that was an important moral apprenticeship. as conservative party chairman, i got our candidate selected in record

time so we could fight the 2019 general election. and i got our campaign machine ready to fight. and, yes, you, we, one the biggest majority since margaret thatcher —— won the biggest majority since thatcher. we got boris elected and we got brexit done. that whirlwind apprenticeship showed me what i need to do to fix our party machine, upgrade it, making it a modern campaigning organisation with better data and better training so we can have 300 excellent new candidates selected in 18 months, ready to take the fight to labour, the lib dems and reform, and my pledge to you today on candidate selection, no more stitch ups.

conference, we need to choose someone to lead us who has already done their apprenticeship and get this party winning again. as foreign secretary, i strengthened her posture on iran. i dealt with putin's nuclear threats. i worked with ben wallace to get tanks delivered to ukraine. and in beijing, i told the chinese foreign minister to his face, "do not invade taiwan..." and i told him directly to lift the

sanctions on my parliamentary friends, even those who have decided to run against me. laughter i rejected the advice of foreign office officials and i was the 0ffice officials and i was the first foreign minister to go to israel after the 7th of october terrorist attacks. because leadership is about standing by your values, and standing shoulder to shoulder with your allies and friends, and i today restate my unwavering support to the people of israel and their right to defend themselves.

i have seen first hand how dangerous the world is and that is why i commit to an increase in defence spending to 3% of gdp. because it's not enough to talk tough. you have to be willing to be tough. you have to be willing to be tough. it's why within weeks of becoming home secretary, i introduced immigration controls that are now cutting net migration in half. i didn't complain about immigration or walk away from the challenge, i got it down by 300,000

people a year. i deport foreign criminals, i strip citizenship from people who mean to do us harm, and i supported the jewish community in the uk, tightening the police response to the protests about gaza and holding the protests about gaza and holding the police accountable for their actions and their in actions. the point is, we can deliver for the british people once again with the right leader, with me as your leader. because 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. because i've been there, because i know in detail what the government should be doing right now, i know in detail how they are failing. now is not the time for an apprentice. i'm not doing this because i want to be something, i'm doing this because i want to do something. renew, yes. rebuilt, yes. to deliverfor our party, yes. but mainly to deliver for our country, and the labour

party has not wasted one second in undoing our work, so we must not waste one second getting back to work. i can unite this party around conservative values. i can hold labour to account for their failure is 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. if you want a winner, choose someone

who can deliver results, who can communicate effectively and to campaigns relentlessly. choose someone who you know and who is tested and he doesn't hide from the media. choose someone who is not afraid of the public but is popular with the public, and choose the candidate to nigel farage, keir starmer and ed davey fear the most because i will not accept the status quo. i will not accept defeatism and i will not accept defeat. everyone running in this leadership contest needs to ask themselves, do they want to be the leader or do they want to be the leader or do

they want to lead? and i know what i want to do, i want to get the heel of the state off of your neck, get their noses out of your business and get their hands out of your pocket. as your leader, i will not waste a day dreaming about yesterday. i will use today to make good on the promise of tomorrow. i will deliver up promise of tomorrow. i will deliver up positive vision, a conservative vision, but we must start now. keir starmer has been prime minister sincejuly the 5th and since then, we've had 100 reasons to regret it. it's called july the 6th and july the 7th and july the 8th...

i don't know about you, but i don't want to live under a labour government for one minute more than we must. so it is in our hands, yours and mine, to turn this around. and we can. because the facts of life, the simple desire to aspire and achieve, to provide safety and security for your family, to own a home, to build a life and give your children a better tomorrow than today, these are conservative facts. we may have lost our way, but it's time to get back on track because history shows that while we have no right to govern, we govern when we get it right, so let's unite, let's

rebuild this party of ours, council by seat, word by word, street by street, one party with one purpose, to turn the page on this useless labour government, to get into 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, our purpose, sojoin me on thisjourney together, mission, our purpose, sojoin me on this journey together, we will win and we will be in the business of the future. thank you. studio: james cleverly, the second of the four candidates speaking today, the leadership for the conservative party, hearing a speech

from each one and james cleverly