UK politics live: ‘Pathetic’ to blame economic meltdown on me, Liz Truss tells Tory conference

Robert Jenrick insisted his “values haven’t changed” when asked why he voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit referendum but later backed leaving the bloc.

The Tory leadership frontrunner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I got behind the democratic decision of the people of this country.”

He added that he had realised while serving as a minister in the Home Office that “we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe”.

“My values haven’t changed, but it’s certainly true that over time the things I have seen in the ministerial jobs that I have done have led me to conclusions that the British state isn’t working in the interests of the British people, and in particular my time at the Home Office where I saw that we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe, which to my mind is the most basic duty of our country,” Mr Jenrick said.

Tom Tugendhat said there was a “very clear argument” that defence spending should be increased towards 3%.

The Tory leadership candidate told LBC: “There’s a very, very clear argument that in order protect ourselves to make sure we’re ready for whatever the world throws at us, we need to be increasing defence spending to 3% and investing in technology.”

He added: “Frankly, it’s an insurance premium that if we don’t pay, the alternative is more expensive.”

Tom Tugendhat has declined to commit to reverse Labour’s cuts to the winter fuel payment if he becomes Tory leader, saying he would not “undermine” his promise to restore trust in politics by writing a budget “four years’ out.”

The shadow security minister told LBC: “I’m not going to write a budget for four years’ time. You know that it wouldn’t be honest for me to do so.

“I’m not going to promise to restore trust and immediately undermine it by making promises that are four years’ out… there’s no way that anyone can write it at this stage.”

He said under his leadership the Tories would “look after old people” by “making sure we support them in difficult times”.

James Cleverly has said he supports Israel’s military incursion into Lebanon.

Asked on Sky News if he supports Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon, the former foreign secretary said: “I do, and the reason why is what I have always said, Israel has the right to defend itself.

“Israel has been at the receiving end of rockets from Hamas, who are embedded within Lebanese society. I love Lebanon. I’ve been to Beirut.

“I’ve spoken with representatives of many of the parts of Lebanese society on a very, very regular basis.

“But Hezbollah are doing huge damage, not just to Israel, but to the Lebanese people.

Those rockets have been raining down for months, and Israel has now taken action.

“My support has always come with the caveat that Israel must continue to adhere to international humanitarian law. They absolutely have the right to defend themselves.”

For context, Israel’s military says it has begun a “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon, with its troops conducting raids on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure along the border.

If the atmosphere at the Labour conference was a good deal less euphoric than might have been expected for a party just returning to government on the back of a landslide majority after 14 years in the wilderness, the mood among Conservatives as they assembled in Birmingham was a little more upbeat than might have been predicted, given the scale of the party’s election defeat.

This slight uplift, however, largely reflected the missteps of the new government in its first weeks, rather than any achievement of the Conservatives over the same time.

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I don’t know which would be worse: if it turned out that Liz Truss didn’t actually believe a word she says and was just trying to kowtow to the lowest common denominator – or if she really is just… like that.

While the event itself didn’t make any clearer the true depths of her political convictions, what it did make clear is that Truss is on a one-woman mission to “save the Western world” – although, based on the content of her answers, it seems like “the Western world” is just a fun nickname for “her own reputation”. Actually, maybe it wasn’t so clear after all.

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While the usual fare of pens, badges and stickers are all available, each one – Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly – has tried to beat the competition with eye-catching gimmicks.

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