Conservative Party Conference 2018: What to expect

The Conservative Party conference will take place in Birmingham this weekend.

The event will run through from 10 am on Sunday 30 September and 12.30 pm on Wednesday 3 October with an estimated 11,000 delegates present.

All eyes will be on Theresa May’s keynote speech as she faces criticism from EU leaders and members of her own party including the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

Johnson recently launched a fresh attack on the prime minister’s Brexit policy and described the prime minister’s proposals as “a moral and intellectual humiliation for this country” that will “cheat the electorate” if implemented.

The conference will kick off with “Welcome to Conference” speech on Sunday afternoon by party chairman Brandon Lewis. This will be followed by addresses from international trade secretary Liam Fox, the international development secretary Penny Mordaunt, defence secretary Gavin Williamson and the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and the transport secretary Chris Grayling will address audiences on Monday along with Philip Hammond.

Former minister Robert Halfon wrote on the website Conservative Home before the conference that Jeremy Corbyn’s messages “resonates with millions of people”, as the Labour leader discussed failing railways, overpaid bosses and infrastructure at the Labour conference.

“We are stuck in the political rhetoric of the past, rather than providing a proper Tory vision for the future,” he wrote.

“It’s why even with ‘the most left-wing leader in the history of mankind etc’, Corbyn’s Labour remains pretty high in the polls.”

“They are speaking to the problems faced by many. We too often speak only for the few.”

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Safiya focuses on business and political stories for UK Investor Magazine. Her interests include international development, travel and politics.