Rishi Sunak Conservative conference speech: the key points

Here are the main takeaways from Mr Sunak's speech to the Tory party conference.

HS2 scrapped

As expected, the Prime Minister finally confirmed that the high speed rail line meant to connect London to Manchester would, in fact, stop at Birmingham.

Announcing the scrapping of the northern leg of the project while on stage in Manchester was probably not how Mr Sunak would have chosen to announce the controversial move, but he said "the facts have changed and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction".

The Prime Minister said he would spend “every single penny” of the £36 billion saved from scrapping the northern leg of HS2 on new transport projects in the North and Midlands.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak making his keynote speech during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Mr Sunak said: "“Our plan will drive far more growth and opportunity here in the North than a faster train to London ever would.

"And given how far along construction is, we will complete the line from Birmingham to Euston and yes, HS2 trains will still run here to Manchester and journey times will be cut between Manchester, Birmingham, London by 30 minutes. And I say this to Andy Street, a man I have huge admiration and respect for, I know we have different views on HS2.

Read More: Explained in five minutes: What is the impact of cutting HS2 north of Birmingham?

“But I also know we can work together to ensure a faster, stronger spine, quicker trains and more capacity between Birmingham and Manchester.”

In terms of what the money would be spent on, Mr Sunak said: "We’ll build the Midlands Rail Hub connecting 50 different stations, we will help Andy Street extend the West Midlands Metro, we will build the Leeds tram, we will electrify the North Wales mainline, upgrade A1, the A2, the A5, the M6.

“We will connect our union with the A75, boosting links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Shots at Keir Starmer

The Labour leader has been criticised by the left of his party for abandoning a number of key pledges, including nationalisation of the rail network, abolishing tuition fees and raising the top rate of income tax.

Mr Sunak and his party aren't going to do any of those things, but it appears the line of attack on Mr Starmer heading into an expected election next year will be that he's, well, a bit sleekit.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak making his keynote speech during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex (Image: PA)

The Tory leader said: "You just cannot know what you are going to get with him. The only thing that’s certain is that it won’t be what he is promising you.

“But the worst thing about Sir Keir is that he just says whatever he thinks will benefit him the most. Doesn’t matter whether he can deliver it, doesn’t matter if it’s true. It doesn’t matter if he said the opposite just a few weeks or months ago.

“He is the walking definition of the 30-year political status quo I am here to end. That is why we have to beat him and, conference, that is why we will.”

Smoking age proposal

Mr Sunak also confirmed a proposal to effectively ban cigarettes for those under a certain age, by raising the legal age for a packet by one year every year.

He said there would be a free vote, but the decision could "save more lives than any other decision we take".

Read More: Herald poll: Is Rishi Sunak doing a good job as Prime Minister?

Asylum seekers

The government has been making noises about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, something Home Secretary Suella Braverman addressed in her own speech on Tuesday.

Speaking of the government's controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, Mr Sunak said he was "confident" the scheme was in line with international law.

However, he said: "I will do whatever is necessary to stop the boats."

Independence

The Prime Minister also addressed the issue of Scottish independence, appearing to take a shot at the police probe into the finances of the SNP.

Echoing Michael Gove's speech on Tuesday, Mr Sunak said: "The forces of separatism are in retreat across our country.

"Nicola Sturgeon wanted to go down in the history books as the woman who broke up our country but it now looks like she may go down for very different reasons."