What time is Boris Johnson’s speech? When Prime Minister will speak at Conservative Party Conference 2021

The Conservative Party Conference has been taking place in Manchester this week, with a host of big names from the party, such as Rishi Sunak, having already delivered speeches.

On Wednesday (5 October), the final day of the conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will address the conference.

Here’s what you need to know about his speech.

What time is Boris Johnson’s speech?

After several days of events the Prime Minister will address the conference, which has been taking place at the Central Convention Complex, on its final day.

Mr Johnson will give his speech in Manchester at Exchange Hall at 11.30am. It is the last event in the main agenda of the conference.

Due to concerns over Covid the conference events have been split between online and in-person events.

As part of the conference’s fringe events there will also be a screening of Mr Johnson’s speech at the PLMR’s Business Hub.

Last year the Tory leader gave his speech via video link.

How to watch the speech

For those who want to watch on TV, the major news channels such as BBC News and Sky News will be broadcasting it live. There will also be live streams on the Conservative Party’s official YouTube account.

Mr Johnson was seen at the conference on Tuesday and drew attention as he hopped on a bike and pedalled through the stands on the main exhibition floor in Manchester.

What will he say?

While it is not known exactly what he will say, it was reported that Mr Johnson would be using his speech to tell workers it was time to return to their desks.

The newspaper quoted a senior source as saying: “He (Mr Johnson) believes very strongly in the value of face-to-face working. It is critical for the training and development of young people. How can you learn a new job on Zoom?”

Appearing on LBC on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said he had “done a lot of Zoom meetings”.

And asked by host Nick Ferrari whether he had all his staff back behind their desks, the Prime Minister said: “No.”

He added: “The Cabinet Secretary has written a pretty good letter some weeks ago to everybody telling them to get back to their desks.”

It is understood that fears of another spike in coronavirus putting paid to plans for staff to return to the office – as it did last year – have subsided.

But Mr Johnson was careful not to rule out the prospect completely.

Asked whether he could say for certain that there would not be another wave, he told LBC: “We’ve got to be humble in the face of nature, and we’ve got to recognise that the disease can… or a new variant or another pandemic could always hit us.”

What have people said they would like to hear?

Conservative former cabinet minister David Davis suggested the Prime Minister should outline an economic strategy based on growth, which he hopes can ease concerns over the direction of party policy after the pandemic.

Asked what he wants to hear from Mr Johnson , Mr Davis said: “I want to hear we’re going to have an economic strategy based on growth.

“We’ve got horrendous borrowings, like every other country. In a way the fact that everybody’s got it is a sort of… not an opportunity, but it means strategies to deal with it are not going to cause money to flood out the country, because where else is it going to go?”

Mr Davis said money connected to the Covid pandemic – including the schemes to protect jobs and to help the NHS deal with the backlog – should be treated in a similar way to how debts connected to the two World Wars were paid off over a long period.

Mr Davis added : “Seize the moment. He’s a great man for seizing the moment, that’s what I want to see from him.

“He always had a reputation before he was Prime Minister as a liberal Tory, he believes in freedom, and I want to see that.”

What have other party figures said at the conference?

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday his priorities include getting the UK out of the pandemic and tackling the “huge backlog” of appointments.

He told the conference: “My priorities are simple: Covid, recovery, reform.

“Covid – getting us, and keeping us, out of the pandemic.

“Recovery – tackling the huge backlog of appointments it has caused.

“And reform of our health and social care systems for the long-term.”

Mr Javid said the “vaccine wall” has “held firm” so far.

He added the NHS waiting list “will get worse before it gets better”, noting it is projected to “grow as high as 13 million”.

Mr Javid went on: “No government, no health secretary, no society can accept that. That’s why we have prioritised elective recovery – check-ups, scans, surgeries – with the biggest catch-up fund in the history of the NHS.”

Meanwhile, Priti Patel claimed she has “redoubled” her efforts to help make women and girls feel safer.

The Home Secretary told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester: “All our thoughts remain with Sarah Everard’s family and friends.

“Her murderer, whose name I will not repeat, was a monster. His explicit intention was to instil fear and terror in women and girls.

“I say this as Home Secretary, but also as a woman – such unconscionable crimes and acts of violence against women and girls have no place in our society.

“That is why I have redoubled my efforts to ensure women and girls feel safer.”

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