Politics latest: Sir Ed Davey to make keynote speech on final day of Lib Dem conference - as Suella Braverman begins Washington DC visit

Policing minister Chris Philp has confirmed today that "no decision has been taken at all" on how the rest of the high-speed rail route will be constructed.

It comes amid rumours that the rail line will not reach some northern cities - such as Manchester - and perhaps not enter London.

Mr Philp said the cost "has gone up a lot".

He added: "As a tax payer myself and representing tax payers in Croydon I do want to see tax payers' money being spent prudently.

"So I'm pleased that the prime minister and chancellor are looking to get value for money, looking at controlling the cost.

"But to be absolutely clear, no decision has been taken at all on how the rest of the route will be constructed."

The conversation with Chris Philp now turns to armed police.

He is asked when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak became aware that there were not enough armed officers.

"I don't know when the PM was briefed," he said. "I spoke to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on Saturday morning.

"In a few hours we arranged for armed forces personnel to be deployed for a period of 48 hours running from Saturday until yesterday afternoon.

"We did need assistance from the armed forces... as of yesterday afternoon, that was no longer required."

Mr Philp said this was partly because Met Police "returned to their firearm" duties.

"I would like to put on record my thanks to the armed forces."

The minister stressed that the police "represent all of us".

Policing minister Chris Philp is now speaking to Kay Burley, where he is asked about Suella Braverman's plans to redefine what a refugee is.

He was asked how he would define a refugee himself.

Mr Philp told Sky News: "The Refugee Convention was originally written in 1951, and it defined a refugee as someone with a well-founded fear of persecution for a particular reason. 

"For example political views, religious views and so on.

"That was written with the horrors of the Second World War in mind, and of course people who fear for their lives should be protected.

"Over the years the definition, sometimes interpreted by the countries around the world, has sort of expanded somewhat and we've seen people who are essentially economic migrants, seeking to use asylum claims."

The minister pointed to large-scale illegal immigration in the US and the European Union.

He said: "There is an issue that needs to be addressed.

"We need to get the balance right between of course protecting the people in need - who are in genuine fear of persecution - but without facilitating or encouraging large-scale, illegal immigration for essentially economic reasons."

Mr Philp - who was the immigration minister - was then posed a number of scenarios, and asked if they would be welcome in the UK.

He said: "This country will play its part in protecting people where they are at risk.

"What we don't want to do is encourage people making dangerous journeys across the Channel."

As we've mentioned, Home Secretary Suella Braverman is preparing to give a speech on asylum law in Washington DC later today.

Our political correspondent Mhari Aurora has explained what she is expected to say...

"She's expected to say nobody entering the UK by boat from France is fleeing imminent peril.

"None of them have 'good causes' for illegal entry.

"She's then going to say 'the vast majority have passed through multiple safe countries and in some instances have resided in safe countries for several years.

"'In this sense, there is an argument that they should cease to be treated as refugees when considering the legitimacy of their onward movement.'"

Mhari says this is "really questioning the definition of a refugee" and asking: "Are people still considered refugees if they have come through a safe country?"

She adds: "That is the debate that [Ms Braverman] wants to have - that is the fight she wants to have with the Labour Party.

"The thing is we know realistically that human rights organisations are going to be up in arms about potentially trying to tweak the UN Refugee Convention."

The UN Refugee Convention was signed in 1951.

New research from the Labour Party has claimed the UK is the only Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country to have gone backwards on employment since the pandemic.

Analysis published by the party claims that of the 38 nations, only the UK has a lower employment rate, a higher rate of unemployment and a higher rate of economic inactivity than in early 2020.

Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, has blamed the Tories' inaction for inflicting a "crisis of economic inactivity" in the UK.

"The Tories' failure on jobs is holding back our economy – through lower growth, a higher benefits bill and so much wasted potential," she said.

"But the government can't keep blaming COVID for their economic mismanagement when the UK's employment rate is still lower than before the pandemic.

"Labour's plan to reform job centres and provide specialist, tailored support to help people move into good jobs will get Britain working again."

The data shows five additional OECD countries have a lower employment rate than in 2020, while 14 have seen unemployment rise.

Five others have seen economic inactivity increase.

The UK is "uniquely failing on all three fronts", Labour said.

Today is the fourth and final day of the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth.

As is tradition, Sir Ed Davey will give his leaders' speech - his very first since taking over at the helm of the party - this afternoon.

Sir Ed is expected to underline health pledges - and promise to "fix our economy with care" after the Conservatives "broke" it with "carelessness".

He will also focus his ire on the current government, as the Lib Dems attempt to win over voters in traditional Tory seats.

Over the course of the conference, the party has hammered home its strategy of targeting the so-called "blue wall", with about 80 seats in their sights where they came second to the Conservatives at the last general election.

Policy announcements made this week designed to appeal to those constituencies have included ditching their long-standing pledge to add 1p to income tax and watering down their housing targets.

Sir Ed will tell party members in Bournemouth: "The Conservatives have broken promise after promise on the NHS. From their 40 new hospitals, to 6,000 more GPs and Rishi Sunak's pledge to bring down waiting lists - all of it is a total con.

"Perhaps there should be a warning on the ballot paper, like there are on cigarette packets: Voting Conservative is bad for your health."

The leader will argue his party has "consistently led the way in highlighting the crises in the NHS and proposing solutions", and that health and care were key to his plan for the economy.

As ever, we'll bring you live updates throughout Sir Ed's speech.

The home secretary will question whether the foundation of modern asylum law is still relevant in a speech in the US on Tuesday.

Suella Braverman will ask whether the United Nations Refugee Convention 1951 is "fit for our modern age".

She will be speaking to the American Enterprise Institute, a centre-right thinktank in Washington DC to set out her plans to tackle the refugee crisis.

Ms Braverman has run the Home Office since Priti Patel left roughly a year ago, although she briefly left after being found to have breached government security rules before later being reappointed.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed to the UK during this time, despite legislation and the prime minister's pledge to "stop the boats".

This is not the first time the home secretary has questioned international law - she has previously signalled her discontent with the European Convention on Human Rights and its interpretation and the subsequent impact on policies like the government's Rwanda deportation scheme.

Ms Braverman is set to say the "global asylum framework" enables the "merging" of "seeking asylum" and "seeking better economic prospects", "seeking refuge in the first country you reach" and "shopping around for your preferred destination", and getting trafficked against your will and paying to be smuggled.

You can read more from our political reporter Tim Baker here:

Good morning!

It's day four of the Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth and the 2023 conference season is well and truly upon us. 

There's still a few days to go until the Tory conference kicks off this weekend - followed by Labour the next week.

But until then, there's plenty to keep the Politics Hub busy:

• Today, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will deliver his speech in Bournemouth. He is expected to highlight how the party has "led the way in proposing solutions to tackle the crisis facing the NHS".
• Sir Ed will also attack the Conservative Party, accusing them of being "more like a bad soap opera than a functioning government";
• Home Secretary Suella Braverman is in Washington DC, where she will deliver a speech at the American Enterprise think tank today;
• Ms Braverman will set out her vision for the challenges posed by global migration and discuss whether the 1951 UN Refugee Convention requires rethinking;
• Elsewhere, and Labour has released an analysis on the state of employment in the UK since the COVID pandemic;
• The party claims the UK is the only country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to have gone backwards.

We'll be discussing all of that and more with:

• Policing minister Chris Philp at 7.20am;

• Labour Party chair Annelise Dodds at 7.45am.

It's a busy day, so follow along for the very latest.

By Rob Powell, political correspondent at Liberal Democrat conference

At another fringe event here in Bournemouth, former Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable invoked "the grim reaper" when talking about older Brexit voters with deep-rooted beliefs.

Sir Vince was answering a question at the gathering about the reasons why people voted Brexit.

"There's been a lot of number crunching about the make-up of Brexit and Remain voters, and sadly they are pretty deep-rooted things," he said. 

"Age was the most important factor and the grim reaper is the only person who..." added Sir Vince, before he stopped talking after being interrupted by laughter from the audience.

The former business secretary also said that "we shouldn't be embarrassed about shouting from the rooftops" that being part of the EU was the Lib Dem's long term objective.

Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds appeared to call for a change in the party's approach to European policy as well, saying: "We want to be able to hear and talk about that path to re-joining the EU."

By Beth Rigby, political editor

The Lib Dems are daring to dream that they could once again overtake the SNP to become the third-largest party once again in Westminster - the SNP have 44 seats - with all eyes on their role as a power broker at the next general election.

But ask Sir Ed Davey about two defining matters of his party, and he doesn't want to talk about it, beyond trying to put to bed the nightmare of the 2010s by insisting that there will be no deal, of any configuration - coalition, confidence and supply - with the Tories.

Read more of Beth's analysis here...