Labour has hit out at Kemi Badenoch's speech this morning, accusing her of treating the public with contempt.

A spokesperson for the party said: "It's astonishing that Kemi Badenoch had the gall to gloss over the Tories' 14-year record of failure. 

"It's utterly delusional and ignores the reality of the mess they left behind."

The spokesperson added that the Tories "oversaw a £114 billion hike to the benefits bill, with the shadow chancellor personally overseeing £33 billion of that". 

They added: "Kemi Badenoch is treating the public with contempt. 

"The Tories are now pledging billions in unfunded commitments – proving they have zero economic credibility and simply can't be trusted."

They concluded that Labour "is clear that people who can work should work" and said the government is "getting people back into the workplace and out of the doom loop of joblessness that spiralled out of control under the Conservatives".

By Mark Kleinman, city editor

Sir Alan Bates has reached a seven-figure deal to settle his claim over the Post Office Horizon scandal, more than 20 years after he began campaigning over what turned into one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.

Paste BN has learnt that the government has agreed a deal with the former sub-postmaster after handing him what he described as a "take it or leave it" offer during the spring.

Bates has previously said publicly that that proposal amounted to 49.2% of his original claim.

One source suggested that his final settlement may have been worth between £4m and £5m, implying that Bates's claim could have been in the region of £10m, although those figures could not be corroborated on Tuesday morning.

A government spokesperson said: "We pay tribute to Sir Alan Bates for his long record of campaigning on behalf of victims and have now paid out over £1.2bn to more than 9,000 victims.

"We can confirm that Sir Alan's claim has reached the end of the scheme process and been settled."

Paste BN has attempted to reach Bates for comment about the settlement of his claim.

We've heard a lot from both Labour and the Conservatives this morning, so now may be a good moment to bring you the latest on how those parties are polling.

YouGov's latest weekly intention voting poll has dropped this morning, and it makes unpleasant reading for the Tories.

This is poll that tracks how people would vote if there was a general election tomorrow, and surveys just under 2,000 people.

Reform remains in pole position, on 27% (no change), while Labour remains stubbornly second on 20% (but up three points).

But this is where it gets sticky for the Conservatives. 

They're down one point and in joint third position on 16% - sharing their position with the Greens.

Trailing behind are the Liberal Democrats on 15%, who have also experienced no change in their support since last week.

Anthony Wells, head of European Political and Social Research at YouGov, said: "Our latest voting intention poll shows that Reform have a steady lead on 27%, and that Labour are back on 20% after the unusual drop last week, suggesting that result was noise in the data.

"The increase in Green support since Zack Polanski became leader has put them in a position close to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. 

"We are seeing slight changes in each party’s figures from week to week, but the underlying finding is they are on comparable levels of support."

Kemi Badenoch has hit out at criticisms of the Conservatives handling of the economy while in government.

Our political editor Beth Rigby asks the Tory leader how people are expected to trust the party following Liz Truss's mini budget and Boris Johnson breaking manifesto commitments on tax.

Badenoch responds sarcastically: "I'm glad that Rachel [Reeves] has sent you her briefing notes, so I know exactly what it is that she wants people to think."

But she adds: "We had a global pandemic. We had a war in Europe that jacked up energy prices. 

"What's her [Reeves's] excuse? What's her excuse? They haven't had anything like that happen. And yet we are seeing all of the metrics go the wrong way.

"Of course, we didn't want to put up taxes, but where did people think the money was coming from, when we were paying people to stay at home? Where did it come from? Every action has a consequence. 

"We went into that election not knowing that there was going to be a pandemic, but we dealt with it as best as we can. 

"I'm not here to say everything was perfect, but there is no other party that is talking about fiscal responsibility except us."

She went on to say that only the Conservatives will "deliver a strong economy and strong borders", while cutting the welfare bill and reducing unemployment.

"Labour has no plan for it. Anything else that they're talking about is just making excuses," she concludes.

Kemi Badenoch now champions cutting government spending.

The Tory leader says: "Getting the government to live within its means is not austerity. It is respect. It is respect for taxpayers who already given. It is respect for the small business that can't just pass on losses to someone else. And it is respect for the next generation who we want to inherit."

Hitting out at Labour, she adds: "A government that refuses to live within its means while telling everyone else to tighten their belts isn't being fair, that government is being hypocritical."

She then begins to outline her plans to save £47 billion in government spending.

She says: "We need to get Britain working again. And you do that by making it make sense to work. 

"The £47 billion of savings we identified aren't random. And they aren't cuts to hospitals or schools, like Rachel was saying this morning. She clearly hasn't read our plans."

Instead, she says savings will come from money "that is being paid for people to sit at home".

She also lines up quangos and "degrees that leave people with no skills" among her targets.

Badenoch also reiterates that the Tories would use at least half of the savings to reduce the national debt, would scrap stamp duty, double the number of apprenticeships, and abolish business rates for the hospitality industry.

Doing this would "reverse Labour's tax doom loop", she says.

She concludes her speech, saying: "When you tax something, you get less of it. That's why we want lower taxes on jobs. 

"We want more jobs. We want lower taxes on businesses. We want more businesses. We need lower taxes on taking a risk. 

"Lower taxes on buying a home. Lower taxes on having a family. And we will get Britain working by rebuilding the contract between government and citizen."

Kemi Badenoch says that Labour is "making everyone poorer" and has accused the government of talking "in the language of Robin Hood".

The Tory leader is addressing people about her plans to reform welfare.

She says: "Everyone in Britain says they want to live in a fair society. What does that actually mean? 

"Labour talk about fairness in the language of Robin Hood. They think those who have have taken from those who don't have.

"They talk about those with the broadest shoulders, never worrying about the limit of what those shoulders can bear. They talk about fairness for working people, but they can't define what a working person is."

She adds: "For me, fairness isn't about the government enforcing equal outcomes. 

"I believe that rewards should match effort. If you get up and go to work, provide for yourself and your family, you should be better off than someone who doesn't."

Continuing the attack on Labour, Badenoch says: "The message that this government is sending couldn't be clearer. 

"Don't bother doing the right thing. Don't bother living within your means because the government won't. Don't bother putting money away to cover your bills. You'll just end up paying for those that don't."

She adds that the Tories would repeal the Employment Rights Bill and "all of the stupid measures" it contains. 

Badenoch also warns that "risk aversion is killing us" and that the government is creating a culture where businesses can't get started.

Kemi Badenoch has begun her speech on welfare by pledging to "get Britain working again".

The Conservative Party leader warns that "people have stopped working" while "the people who keep this country going feel that they are being punished, not rewarded, for doing the right thing".

"It doesn't have to be like this," says Badenoch.

She then hits out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves's speech this morning, which she says was a "panicked speech" and a "masterclass in managed decline".

The Tory leader says she "blamed absolutely everybody else for her own choices, her own decisions, her own failures."

She continues: "When Labour made every business in the country pay more to employ someone, those firms had three choices: raise prices, cut jobs, or close. And the impact of all three of those choices is why growth has flatlined. 

"What began as Labour's idea of fairness to take from the unworthy private sector and give to the worthy unions has made life harder for everyone, especially those doing the right thing. 

"But we have a plan to fix this."

This plan involves Reeves doing "the exact opposite of what she has done so far", Badenoch says. 

She then lists a shopping list of laws she would like to scrap.

These include the windfall tax on oil and gas producers' profits, carbon taxes and changes to inheritance tax for farmers.

But she adds: "Most importantly, what we are going to do is get people off welfare and into work.

"What's happening right now with our welfare system is not just an economic scandal, it's a moral one."

Kemi Badenoch is just about to begin to deliver an address about her plans to cut welfare, in a bid to shrink the size of the state.

The Tory party leader is also expected to criticise Labour for backing down in the summer on their plans to cut welfare by targeting personal independence payments.

She will also hit out at Reform UK, who yesterday reaffirmed their commitment to scrap the two-child benefit cap for working British adults.

You can watch her speech in full in the stream above, and we'll bring you the latest right here on the Politics Hub.

We've also heard some strongly worded criticism of Rachel Reeves's speech from the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, after the Tories called for her to be sacked if she breaks Labour's manifesto commitments. 

Reacting to the chancellor's pitch-rolling speech ahead of the budget on 26 November, Reform's deputy leader, Richard Tice, said Reeves said "today has confirmed what we all knew".

"She's going to hammer working people with even more tax rises," he warned.

"Instead of cutting waste and spending, deregulating and optimising for growth, we are just getting more of the same."

He said that only Reform is "serious" about growing the economy, backing business and helping workers.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats called Reeves's speech "pointless".

Daisy Cooper, the party's Treasury spokesperson, added: "It's clear that this budget will be a bitter pill to swallow, as the government seems to have run out of excuses.

"The government can't keep punishing households, high streets and hospices while big banks, gambling companies and social media giants don't pay their fair share.

"If Rachel Reeves really wants to unleash growth for British businesses, she needs to get a better deal with the EU. 

"It's the elephant in the room she refuses to face."

The Conservatives have called for Rachel Reeves to be sacked if she breaks the party's manifesto commitments at the budget later this month.

Her Tory counterpart, Sir Mel Stride, said the chancellor made an "emergency speech" this morning because she is "panicking about the speculation she has fuelled".

But his verdict of Reeves's speech was, unsurprisingly, damning.

The shadow chancellor said: "All she’s done is confirm the fears of households and businesses - that tax rises are coming.

"The chancellor claims she fixed the public finances last year. 

"If that was true, she would not be rolling the pitch for more tax rises and broken promises. 

"The reality is she fiddled the fiscal rules so she could borrow hundreds of billions more."

Stride also accused Reeves of always blaming "someone else".

But he added: "This is about choices - and she made all the wrong ones."

"If Rachel Reeves had the backbone to get control of government spending - including the welfare bill - she wouldn't need to raise taxes. 

"If she breaks her promises yet again, enough is enough. She must go."

During her speech, Stride also called on Sir Keir Starmer to "sack her" if she breaks her manifesto commitments, saying that she is "out of her depth".