David Cameron attacks Rishi Sunak over HS2 as PM announces smoking ban – Tory conference live

One of Rishi Sunak’s predecessors has attacked the decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2 to Manchester, saying the prime minister had “thrown away 15 years of cross-party consensus” and made future infrastructure projects much harder.

Conservative former prime minister David Cameron condemned the decision as losing a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”.

Mr Sunak used his Conservative Party conference speech to promise to put the £36 billion of savings into a raft of other transport schemes.

He also unveiled radical plans to stamp out cigarette-smoking for future generations, announcing plans for a UK smoking ban by raising the legal smoking age by one year every year. It means a 14-year-old today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.

However, it’s understood another of Mr Sunak’s predecessors, Liz Truss, will vote against the plan, raising the prospect of other right-wingers trying to join her in blocking it.

The PM also pledged to crack down on the sale of disposable vapes to children, saying more must be done to restrict their availability to under-18s.

The Independent first revealed secret talks to scrap the link beyond Birmingham.

Key Points

• Two of PM’s predecessors lay into Sunak’s plans

• From smoking ban to A Levels, what major policies has Sunak announced today?

• Prime minister slates project ‘mismanagement’

• Simon Calder: What does scrapping of HS2 beyond Birmingham mean for travellers?

• ‘Health fascism’ and ‘staggering’ omissions: Reactions to the PM’s speech

• Where the £36bn saved will go

• Rishi Sunak finally axes HS2 in the north – weeks after The Independent revealed plan

Tetchy Rishi Sunak defends smoking ban and HS2 U-turn

10:15 , Tara Cobham

A tetchy Rishi Sunak defended his decision to ban smoking but not impose restrictions on junk food, saying cigarettes are “different to a pack of crisps or a piece of cake”.

The prime minister said smoking, which he banned for future generations as a flagship policy in his first Tory conference party speech as leader on Wednesday, was “unequivocally the single biggest preventable cause of death, disability and illness in our society”.

And he said it was “chemically addictive”, praising his own plan to ban it as “the single biggest intervention in public health in a generation”.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Tetchy Rishi Sunak defends smoking ban and HS2 U-turn

Rishi Sunak’s Tory conference speech goes up in smoke

10:00 , Tara Cobham

Rishi Sunak came under fire within hours of delivering his first Conservative Party conference speech as two former Tory prime ministers took aim at his flagship plans.

In a wide-ranging address, the PM finally announced he was scrapping the northern leg of HS2 – as first revealed by The Independent – and unveiled a ban on cigarettes for the next generation.

But in an extraordinary attack, David Cameron denounced the decision to axe the high-speed line beyond Birmingham as the “wrong one”, saying that a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” had been lost.

Kate Devlin, Adam Forrest and Jon Stone report:

Rishi Sunak’s Tory conference speech up in smoke as Cameron and Truss attack plans

Home Secretary being taken to court over anti-protest legislation

09:45 , Tara Cobham

The Home Secretary is being taken to court over new anti-protest legislation.

Liberty has told Suella Braverman, “See you in court,” after it was granted permission by the High Court on Wednesday to take legal action against her.

The human rights organisation said the Government has “unlawfully introduced new anti-protest legislation, which had been democratically rejected by Parliament just a few months earlier”.

Rishi Sunak declines to apologise to North of England for scrapping HS2

09:27 , Tara Cobham

Rishi Sunak declined to apologise to people in the North of England for cutting HS2 north of Birmingham.

In a pre-recorded interview broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, the Prime Minister was asked whether he would apologise for the Tory Party’s “false promises” made over many years.

He replied: “No. What I want to say to everybody is that what we’re doing is going to be better. It’s going to be better for our country.

“You keep using the word scrap but what we’re doing is replacing HS2 with something that’s going to benefit far more people in far more places and far quicker.

“Every penny that would have been spent on this project, £36 billion, is going to be reinvested in every form of transportation, not just heavy rail and in every part of our country.”

He repeated his claim that “the facts have changed” with a pandemic that has “totally changed business travel”.

“The right thing to do is to have the courage to change direction and do something different and that’s what I’ve done.”

Rishi Sunak reported to police over Nicola Sturgeon joke

09:15 , Tara Cobham

Rishi Sunak has been reported to police in Scotland over comments made about former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory conference speech.

Mr Sunak sought to make fun of the former SNP leader after she was arrested and questioned as part of Police Scotland’s investigation into her party’s finances – dubbed Operation Branchform.

Ms Sturgeon was released without charge following her arrest back in June.

Now Chris McEleny, the general secretary of the rival pro-independence Alba Party, has reported Mr Sunak to the force for contempt of court allegations, as the prime minister’s comments come amid a live police investigation.

Katrine Bussey reports:

Rishi Sunak reported to police over Nicola Sturgeon joke

Farage: ‘My policies now mainstream in Conservative Party’

09:00 , Archie Mitchell

Former UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has said the things he fought for have become "quite mainstream within the Conservative Party".

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain that his views had previously been characterised by senior Conservatives as "extreme", "bad" and "wrong".

He added: "Those things we have fought for have become quite mainstream within the Conservative Party. I was welcomed with open arms (at the party's conference)."

He also said it was "very nice" of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to say he could return to the Conservatives but he would not be doing so.

Brabin: Sunak did not consult northern leaders on HS2 plans

08:45 , Tara Cobham

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said Rishi Sunak had not consulted northern leaders on his plans to rip up the northern leg of HS2.

She told BBC Breakfast: "It also feels quite frustrating that when the Prime Minister was on the platform, he was saying 'I know what the North needs'.

"He hasn't spoken to any northern leaders and we could have been helpful in trying to work out what was actually a priority for us and it is that capacity that HS2 was there to solve."

She also complained about a lack of detail on the transport schemes announced by Mr Sunak.

"We've had a decade of underfunding on transport in the North. Now we've been given the things that we've been campaigning on, pots of money - we don't know what they are, we don't know where they're coming from, we don't know the timeframe."

Ask John Rentoul anything about Tory Party conference revelations

08:30 , John Rentoul, chief political commentator

The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul will be taking your questions on the fallout from the Conservative Party conference this afternoon.

What has the conference taught us about the current state of the Conservative Party? What do the prime minister’s plans mean for the future of Tories? And what does the apparent divide in the party mean as we close in on the next general election?

If you have a question about any of the revelations from the Tory Party conference, submit it now, or when I join you live at 2pm on Thursday 5 October for the “Ask Me Anything” event.

Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.

Ask John Rentoul anything on Tory Party conference – from HS2 to smoking bans

Voters go to the polls in Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election

08:15 , Tara Cobham

Voters are going to the polls in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.

The seat was vacated after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was ousted in a recall petition.

Ms Ferrier was kicked out of the SNP for breaching Covid regulations by travelling between London and Glasgow after testing positive for the virus.

Speculation about her position followed by the recall petition and subsequent ballot have led to months of campaigning in the seat.

SNP candidate Katy Loudon goes up against Labour’s Michael Shanks and Tory hopeful Thomas Kerr in the by-election on Thursday.

Craig Paton reports:

Voters go to the polls in Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election

Lord Bethell: ‘Sunak smoking ban should be first step’

08:00 , Archie Mitchell

Lord Bethell welcomed Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban, and said the measure should be “the first step in several”.

The Tory former health minister called for a levy on tobacco profits to help people quit, tougher measures to ensure licensing of shops and new measures to tackle obesity.

“There isn't a Taliban rebellion on this at all,” he said, suggesting early opposition from Liz Truss and others opposed to so-called nanny state policies was limited.

Lord Bethell added: “People realise that the health of the nation is poor.

“The pandemic showed that, the waiting lists show that. We've got too much chronic disease. The workforce absence we've got around the country shows there are too many people who are poorly and people are a bit fed up with it.

“I think we do need to make concrete steps to improve.”

Covid-19 inquiry told to call Sir Gavin Williamson as witness

07:40 , Archie Mitchell

The Covid inquiry has been urged by children’s charities and unions to call Sir Gavin Willamson as a witness.

The former education secretary is providing written evidence to the inquiry, but chair Baroness Hallett has been told he must appear in person.

Save the Children UK’s Jennifer Twite on Wednesday said children disproportionately faced “educational and psychological harm” due to government decisions during the pandemic.

Referring to Sir Gavin, she said: “Whose role was it to consider the interests of children and make sure their needs were not forgotten in this crisis?”

And Ms Twite asked why his role as education secretary was “so incidental to decision making” that he had not been called to give evidence to the inquiry.

Samuel Jacob, representing the Trades Union Congress, said: “That Sir Gavin Williamson is not on the witness list appears to education unions to be an omission, however incidental his role, in fact, has been, and the inquiry is invited to rectify it.”

UK lags behind rivals on switch to green growth – study

07:05 , Jane Dalton

The UK is “in reverse gear” in the global race for green growth, a think tank has warned.

A lack of a green industrial strategy means Britain is lagging behind international competitors in exploiting the economic opportunities of the net zero transition, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.

At a time when other major powers are supporting the shift, such as through the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan, Rishi Sunak’s recent rollback of some net zero policies makes the UK an outlier, the report suggested.

UK public investment in the net zero economy is also “inadequate”, according to IPPR analysis which found that commitments to invest in clean energy technologies are among the lowest in the G7 group of leading western economies.

A collaboration between public research, strategic investment, and industry co-ordination seen in other nations is “glaringly absent” in Britain, the left-leaning think tank said.

Watch: Minister in tears at Sunak speech

06:05 , Jane Dalton

Editorial: Voters won’t be convinced by Sunak’s posing as candidate of ‘change’

05:05 , Jane Dalton

Mr Sunak has to contend with the fact that he’s been at a senior level in government for the last four years, was an enthusiastic Brexiteer, and must take his share of the blame:

Editorial: Can Rishi Sunak really claim to be the candidate of change?

Home secretary apologises to dogs

04:02 , Jane Dalton

Suella Braverman apologised to all dogs, after standing on the tail of a guide dog at the party conference:

Suella Braverman reacts to photo of herself standing on dog at Tory party conference

No northern leaders were consulted, says mayor

02:02 , Jane Dalton

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said: “It’s great that he’s saying it’s what the North needs. How would he know, he’s not spoken to us - not one leader in the North has been in that room when they’ve come up with this plan.”

The Labour politician told Channel 4 News: “We’re not involved at all and actually we could be helpful, we could help solve a lot of these problems.

“This doesn’t work for north-to-south, it doesn’t work east-to-west, and what we’re seeing in this plan is a decade of rail replacement buses with electrification.”

Ms Brabin voiced concerns over a lack of timeframes for the money, saying: “We’re slightly cynical because we’ve been promised so much by Conservative governments ... fundamentally it feels like just pure electioneering.”

Rail minister Huw Merriman, asked if anyone will believe the pledges, told the same programme: “It’s £36 billion at play, the bulk of that will be spent up in the North to add improvements.”

He declined to give detailed costings on improvements to the A1, saying they will have to be “calculated out from a pot we’ve dedicated towards roads funding”.

Analysis: Tories traps laid for Labour

01:02 , Jane Dalton

Speech after speech laid down challenges that were consciously designed to put Sir Keir Starmer on the spot and disrupt Labour’s own conference. Sean O’Grady asks what effect they will have:

Sunak wagers that wedge issues will divide and conquer Labour

Sunak reported to police over Nicola Sturgeon joke

Thursday 5 October 2023 00:02 , Jane Dalton

Rishi Sunak has been reported to police in Scotland over comments made about former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory conference speech:

Rishi Sunak reported to police over Nicola Sturgeon joke

Tories ‘facing competing schisms'

Wednesday 4 October 2023 23:02 , Jane Dalton

The Conservatives are facing competing splits, commentators say, after former chancellor George Osborne stood by David Cameron’s attack on the HS2 decision.

Craig Oliver, who worked for Mr Cameron in No 10, said the ex-PM would not have made his statement had he not been certain.

A rail expert wrote on social media: “A man who has never fought a general election as PM reckons he has a mandate to rip up a key tenet of the 2019 Conservative manifesto and, through selling land already purchased for it, make it impossible for a future government to recover from.”

But one supporter of the decision said it would save ancient woodlands and historic buildings from being destroyed.

Sunak reveals replacement for A-levels

Wednesday 4 October 2023 22:01 , Jane Dalton

Rishi Sunak has announced his plan to scrap A-levels and replace it with a new qualification called the Advanced British Standard (ABS) aimed at creating the “best education system in the western world”.

But unions dismiss promise £30,000 teacher bonuses:

Sunak axes A-levels and reveals new ‘Advanced British Standard’

Homeowners left heartbroken 'must be compensated’

Wednesday 4 October 2023 21:00 , Jane Dalton

Residents in a Staffordshire village where HS2 bought up family homes to make way for the line to Manchester have “suffered immensely” and will be “relieved” to hear it has been cancelled - but now they must be compensated, a local councillor has said.

Jamie Stephenson, chairman of Madeley Parish Council, near Stoke-on-Trent, said the rail project had already had a “major impact” on the villages of Madeley, Whitmore and others.

Cllr Stephenson said the decision should have been made years ago to save residents from stress and heartache.

He said: “We have had loads of farmers who have had their land compulsory purchased, some of them have been left completely heartbroken because these farms were their whole lives, some were born there and grew up there and they have been taken away from them and they don’t really understand why.

“A lot of it has been for early environmental works, which, from what we can see, is planting small trees and carving up the fields.

“It has been really unclear what the actual purpose of that is, other than to try and diminish the environmental impact of HS2, while they are ripping up ancient woodland in the process. It has been very strange process.

“To be frank, the biggest problems were probably yet to come with the construction work itself so I think we have been lucky that those main construction works haven’t actually started.”

Schemes No 10 the money will go into

Wednesday 4 October 2023 20:21 , Jane Dalton

Labour claimed that “almost all” of the schemes announced by the Prime Minister “had already been part of government plans so cannot be described as new investments nor reinvestments”.

These are the projects Downing Street says the HS2 money will go into:

Transport projects supported by PM as HS2 axed north of Birmingham

Sunak speech goes up in smoke as two predecessors attack key plans

Wednesday 4 October 2023 19:50 , Jane Dalton

Rishi Sunak’s flagship plans came under fire from two Tory former prime ministers, as well as northern leaders, business chiefs and other senior Tories. The full story:

Rishi Sunak’s Tory conference speech up in smoke as Cameron and Truss attack plans

Tory mayor of West Midlands ‘disappointed’ but won’t resign

Wednesday 4 October 2023 19:20 , Jane Dalton

Watch:

Tory Party conference fallout: Ask our political commentator

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:58 , Jane Dalton

John Rentoul will be taking your questions on the fallout from the Conservative Party conference live at 2pm tomorrow. Submit your question here:

Ask John Rentoul anything on Tory Party conference – from HS2 to smoking bans

Land set aside for rail route will no longer be 'protected’

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:36 , Jane Dalton

Land earmarked for the HS2 routes now scrapped will not be protected for potential future expansion of the high-speed railway, the Department for Transport has confirmed.

Railway consultant William Barter described the decision as “ludicrous” and an act of “spite”.

Under a process known as safeguarding, land on routes beyond the West Midlands - to Crewe, Manchester and the East Midlands - was protected to stop conflicting developments taking place.

Some residents also voluntarily sold their homes to HS2 Ltd.

The government said safeguarding would be lifted in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire “at the earliest opportunity” to “remove the uncertainty that has surrounded thousands of people along the route”.

It went on: “The land acquisition programme on Phase 2a (between the West Midlands and Crewe) will be halted immediately and HS2 will not be accepting new applications under the existing schemes from property owners in the areas where safeguarding is going to be lifted.

“Any property that is no longer required for HS2 will be sold and a programme is being developed to do this.”

Mr Barter said this means planned phases beyond the West Midlands “will never happen”, which he described as “madness”.

He said the scrapped Phase 2a would have provided “a lot of value for relatively little cost as it’s just a straightforward line”.

He added: “He (Mr Sunak) shouldn’t design out the potential to do that.”

Cameron slates 'lost opportunity’

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:14 , Jane Dalton

David Cameron has accused Rishi Sunak of losing a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” by making the “wrong” decision to cancel the northern leg of HS2.

The former prime minister warned cuts to the high-speed rail project will make it “much harder” to build political consensus for future long-term projects.

Mr Cameron, writing on social media, said: “Today’s decision on HS2 is the wrong one. It will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction.

“HS2 was about investing for the long-term, bringing the country together, ensuring a more balanced economy and delivering the Northern Powerhouse. We achieved historic, cross-party support, with extensive buy-in from city and local authority leaders across the Midlands and North of England.

“Today’s announcement throws away fifteen years of cross-party consensus, sustained over six administrations, and will make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects.”

Opinion: Could ‘Rishi the radical’ win the election?

Wednesday 4 October 2023 17:52 , Jane Dalton

The PM’s speech will reassure some doubters in a party that does not yet love Sunak, because he showed he won’t go down without a fight. But his three issues did not amount to a coherent long-term vision for the country, writes Andrew Grice:

Where the £36bn will go: Disused station to reopen and more projects

Wednesday 4 October 2023 17:29 , Jane Dalton

More details have emerged of where the £36bn the prime minister says is saved from HS2 will be spent, writes Simon Calder.

Rishi Sunak said in a social media clip that the number of trains between Leeds and Sheffield will quadruple. At present there are five off-peak trains each way per hour. The frequency is set to increase to 20 – or one every three minutes.

The disused Victoria station in Sheffield, which closed in the early 1970s, will be reopened as the hub for new lines north and south of the city.

The government’s Network North map shows projects as far south as Devon and Kent – extending a rail link from Plymouth by a few miles to Tavistock, and improving a busy road junction on the A2 London-Dover road.

Sunak slates ‘mismanagement'

Wednesday 4 October 2023 17:10 , Jane Dalton

Mr Sunak slated the “mismanagement” of the London end of the project as he announced the line will run to Euston in central London, rather than terminating at Old Oak Common in the capital’s western suburbs.

He said the new plan for Euston will save £6.5 billion on HS2’s vision, with a new development zone around the station for businesses and homes.

The Prime Minister said: “The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site.

“There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.”

A new terminus at Euston, one of London’s central rail hubs, had been due to open between 2031-36, but this phase of the project has been delayed by two to three years.

Five of the strangest conference moments

Wednesday 4 October 2023 16:50 , Jane Dalton

From Toploader to the home secretary standing on a dog’s tail:

Toploader and Sinatra: Five of the strangest moments from the Tory Conference

Andy Street posts reflection on Sunak’s HS2 announcement

Wednesday 4 October 2023 16:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Sunak has made ‘wrong decision on HS2’, says David Cameron

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In a rare intervention, former Tory PM David Cameron attacked Mr Sunak’s decision on HS2 – saying he had “thrown away fifteen years of cross-party consensus” and made future infrastructure projects much harder.

Mr Cameron said it would “fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country” and said his own government had helped “achieved historic, cross-party support”.

He added: “Today’s announcement throws away fifteen years of cross-party consensus, sustained over six administrations, and will make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects.

“I regret this decision and in years to come I suspect many will look back at today’s announcement and wonder how this once-in-a-generation opportunity was lost.”

Sunak wrong to ‘tear up’ coherent HS2 plan, says Burnham

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was relatively restrained in his condemnation of Rishi Sunak – saying it had been a “highly frustrating week” saying it “cannot be right” to ditch HS2’s northern leg.

The Labour mayor told reporters: “I don’t see how you can take a plan … and basically tear it up at a party conference. We have not been consulted this week … I think we were entitled to better than we have had. I think the city deserved more respect.”

He said Mr Sunak’s place to provide replacement funding for east-west links was not “coherent” and “does not deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full”.

The Labour mayor said it was “not a solution” and was only “patching up” existing links.

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said much of the replacement funding Mr Sunak announced was “rehashed” and dismissed some pledges as “insinuations”.

She said the North did not want to be “hoodwinked in the promise of more cash … without it ever being realistic”.

Sunak faces Liz Truss-led Tory rebellion to stop his youth smoking ban

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:21 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak faces a Liz Truss-led Tory rebellion to stop his plan to effectively ban the next generation of young people from smoking.

The PM has vowed to bring in legislation so that the legal age for buying cigarettes should rise every year to stop youngsters ever taking it up.

The Tory leader said a vote on the proposal in parliament will be a “free vote” and it is a “matter of conscience” for his own MPs – admitting many in the party don’t like banning things.

Ms Truss will vote against the plan, it is understood – raising the prospect of dozens of other right-wingers will join her in bid to block it.

She talked about the need to “stop banning things” during her own conference fringe speech.

It emerged at the Tory conference that around 60 Conservative MPs have now signed up to Ms Truss’s pro-growth group, putting Mr Sunak’s majority at risk.

But Labour MPs will be whipped to support the youth smoking ban, The Independent understands, which should help ensure it gets through parliament.

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Gillian Keegan cries as Rishi Sunak shares his backstory in conference speech

Andy Street: ‘Very disappointed, but a good compromise has been reached’

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Andy Street will remain a member of the Conservative Party despite Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2.

The West Midlands mayor, who is the most senior Tory outside London, said he considered leaving the party over the “very disappointing” plan.

But, despite Mr Sunak cancelling the expansion of the high speed line beyond Birmingham, Mr Street said “one issue does not define your membership of the party”.

And reacting to the news that HS2 will reach London’s Euston station as opposed to the suburb Old Oak Common, Mr Street said he had reached a “good compromise” with the PM.

Mr Street told the BBC: “I did consider whether I should continue as a member of the Conservative Party. And I’ve decided that I will continue for a very clear reason.

“I have always been a conservative for 42 years on one issue does not define your membership of the party.”

Teaching unions hit back

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Rishi Sunak is doubling down on pie-in-the-sky education policies. He is completely out of touch with reality.

“The government’s long-standing failure to hit its own training targets, compounded by the haemorrhaging of teachers due to high workload and below inflation pay, made the prime minister’s call in January for more maths teaching an impossible dream.”

“There is no magic wand to create English and maths teachers in sufficient numbers to educate 11-16 year olds, let alone at A-Level too.”

Teaching unions hit back at Sunak’s plan for reform

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Teaching unions have fiercely criticised Rishi Sunak’s “pie-in-the-sky” plan to scrap A-levels and replace it with a new qualification called the Advanced British Standard (ABS), saying it “shows a complete lack of understanding.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Today’s announcement shows just how out of touch this government has become with the teaching profession.

“There are so many immediate crises that schools are currently dealing with, from recruitment and retention, to crumbling school buildings and the lack of support for pupils with SEND.

“The government should be focusing on fixing those, not announcing yet another round of seismic changes to exams and qualifications.”

He added: “Looking at post 16 qualifications in isolation from the rest of our education system shows a complete lack of understanding – we need a coherent system from early years to the end of key stage 5 where each step supports the next to enable our young people to achieve their ambitions, to be prepared for their lives outside of school and to take their next steps in education, training or employment.”

Labour’s shadow transport sec blasts gov’s ‘broken promises'

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:34 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Louise Haigh, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary blasted the government’s “broken promises” and said the project had become a “colossal symbol of Conservative failure”.

“This staggering Tory fiasco has seen costs soar, and the North and Midlands are left to pay the price,” she said.

“Only after 13 years of dismal failure could the Conservatives make the centrepiece of their conference a re-announcement of promises the Conservatives have made before.

“Is there anything more emblematic of 13 years of dismal failure by this broken government than their flagship levelling-up project that fails to even reach the north?

“What started as a modern infrastructure plan left by the last Labour government has, after 13 years of incompetence, waste, and broken promises become a colossal symbol of Conservative failure.”

Mixed reaction to smoking ban proposals

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:22 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak has said he will give a “free vote” on his proposals to phase out smoking in Britain, as it is a “matter of conscience” for MPs. So what reaction has there been from non-parliamentarians?

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at Asthma and Lung UK, said: “Today’s announcement for the UK to ban cigarettes for the next generation by gradually increasing the smoking age is an incredibly positive step forward, which will protect the next generation from developing lung conditions caused by this deadly addiction.”

But Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “Raising the age of sale of tobacco is creeping prohibition, but it won’t stop young people smoking because prohibition doesn’t work. Anyone who wants to smoke will buy tobacco abroad or from illicit sources.

“Future generations of adults who are considered old enough to vote, pay taxes, drive a car and drink alcohol are going to be treated like children and denied the right to buy a product that can be purchased legally by people a year older than them.”

James Heale, of The Spectator, noted that the right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs was predictably quick off the mark in its condemnation:

South Yorkshire mayor: HS2 replaced with ‘nothing more than reheated projects’ Tories have failed to deliver

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:13 , Andy Gregory

The Labour mayor of South Yorkshire has warned that Rishi Sunak’s “Network North” announcement – the replacement for scrapping HS2 beyond Birmingham – “means nothing more than reheated projects they’ve had 13 years to deliver”.

UK smoking ban: How will it work and who will be affected?

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:12 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak has announced plans for a UK smoking ban by raising the legal smoking age by one year, every year.

Mr Sunak said in his speech: “Four in five smokers have started by the time they’re 20, later the vast majority try to quit but many fail because they’re addicted and they wish they had never taken up the habit in the first place.

“If we could break that cycle – if we could stop the start – then we would be on our way to ending the biggest cause of preventable death and disease in our country.”

My colleague Athena Stavrou has the details here:

UK smoking ban: How will it work and who will be affected?

Sunak rail plan ‘back of beer mat’ stuff, say Manchester businesses

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:09 , Andy Gregory

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:

Chris Fletcher, of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said Rishi Sunak’s promises of reinvestment of HS2 money “will be treated with cynicism and scepticism” by business leaders in the city.

“This still has the feeling of a political concept rather than a practical solution,” he said. “My guess is that this is still a back of a beer mat plan and reality will be very different.

“Put bluntly, we are fed up of broken promises, delays, cuts and hopes about finally getting what we need being dashed for political expediency.”

‘Health fascism’ and ‘staggering’ omissions: Reactions to the PM’s speech

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:07 , Andy Gregory

Here are some reactions from political journalists and commentators to Rishi Sunak’s speech:

Lewis Goodall of the News Agents podcast asks whether “anyone will believe” the PM’s claims to be the “change candidate” who can take difficult decisions, given that his “biggest decision” is to actually cancel much of HS2.

Dan Hodges of the Mail on Sunday said it was “staggering” Sunak did not mention the cost of living crisis.

The Times’ Whitehall editor reports that some Tory MPs are already dubbing the smoking ban plans “health fascism”.

And The Independent’s chief political commentator rounded off his lengthy Twitter thread blogging his reaction to the PM’s speech by noting that the PM had chosen a somewhat odd line to end on:

The phrase raised eyebrows in other ways too, as this Labour member and i newspaper columnist put it:

Andy Street tight-lipped ahead of Birmingham press conference

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:51 , Andy Gregory

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

After days of speculation about whether he will quit the Conservative Party, West Midlands mayor Andy Street will hold a press conference for local media in Birmingham.

Mr Street, the most senior Tory outside London, had expressed fury after The Independent revealed Rishi Sunak’s plans to scrap the northern leg of HS2.

He repeatedly refused to rule out leaving the party, and has remained tight-lipped since Mr Sunak confirmed the plans.

If he decides to quit the party over the scrapping of HS2’s Birmingham to Manchester link, it will be a significant blow to the PM and cap a tumultuous conference for the Conservatives.

Watch: Rishi Sunak jokes that Nicola Sturgeon might go to jail

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:37 , Andy Gregory

What does scaling back of HS2 mean for travellers?

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:32 , Andy Gregory

HS2 has been axed north of Birmingham – so what can travellers expect instead? Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has studied the detail in the PM’s announcement:

Rail

1. "Network North" replaces Northern Powerhouse Rail, including a new £12bn line from Liverpool to Manchester, and a new station at Bradford with 30-minute trains from Manchester.

2. Line to Hull and along North Wales electrified.

3. Don Valley railway resuscitated.

4. In Cumbria, the coastal railway between Carlisle, Workington and Barrow will be improved.

5. In South Yorkshire, the Don Valley line will brought back to passenger use between Stocksbridge and Sheffield.

6. The already announced Midland Rail Hub will connect 50 different stations.

Local transport:

1. The West Midlands Metro will be extended.

2. The Leeds tram is promised (again).

3. The £2 maximum bus fare in England will be retained; the planned rise to £2.50 from 1 November will therefore be cancelled.

Roads:

The PM listed trunk roads that will be improved: A1 (presumably in Northumberland), A2, A5, A75 (Carlisle-Stranraer), M6, Shipley bypass, Blyth relief road and “70 other road schemes”.

What does scaling back of HS2 mean for travellers?

Full report: Rishi Sunak axes A-levels and reveals ‘Advanced British Standard’ replacement

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:28 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak has announced his plan to scrap A-levels and replace it with a new qualification called the Advanced British Standard (ABS), reports our political correspondent Adam Forrest.

The prime minister told the Conservative party conference in Manchester he wanted to raise standards and create the “best education system in the western world”.

You can read the full report here:

Watch: Sunak announces plans to scrap A-levels in new education policy

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:20 , Andy Gregory

The Indy photo essay: Snoozing and schmoozing — behind the scenes at Tory conference

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Thousands of Tory activists and organisers attended this week’s gathering, which could well be the last before the next general election.

After a year of chaos and party infighting, it has been more sombre than usual at the iconic Midland Hotel and around the conference centre.

But there was still plenty quirky and eye-catching goings-on for our resident photographer to capture...

The Indy photo essay: Behind the scenes at Tory conference

Netflix, hoodies and Emily in Paris: What Akshata Murthy’s speech revealed about Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, was the Prime Minister’s surprise warm-up act today at the Conservative Party conference, delivering a personal speech dedicated to his ambition, drive - and love for Netflix shows.

The heiress, fashion designer and venture capitalist revealed that the PM loves a “good rom-com - the cheesier the better”, and joked that Brits would be “relieved” to hear the Netlix show Emily in Paris was “not informing his outlook on the EU”.

Her address began by sharing that that the PM had “no idea” what she was going to say and in a gushing tribute, she described the Tory leader as her “best friend”.

What Akshata Murthy’s speech revealed about Rishi Sunak