six means biological six. now, labour like to talk the country down. they want to pretend that everything would be great if they have never left office and pretend that somehow we have not achieved anything, but that is just simply not right. remember the note that said there is no money left, when labour left office in 2010, unemployment was higher than when they came into government. public and private debt was accumulating, the banking system is broken, the deficit was ballooning, and even labour accepted that after years of spending, significant cuts in expenditure were required. they went into the 2010 election admitting they would have to make cuts. labour left britain on the brink of bankruptcy. and worse, the money that labour had put into public service had not been accompanied by sufficient reform. labour's welfare system was more about disguising how many people are out of work than actually getting people back into employment, and for all the money that labour had put into education, our schools were falling down international league tables, and almost half of labour's increase in the nhs budget has been swallowed up by higher pay and more bureaucracy. and despite that awful inheritance, we have delivered the third highest rate of economic growth in the g7, created 4 million jobs, 800 a day, with kemi creating new freedoms, and we have now become the fourth biggest exporter in the world and we conservatives under david took the difficult decisions to repair the public finances and control the national debt, and that meant that when covid hit, we could support people and businesses with furlough, deliver the fastest vaccine roll—out in the world, and provide record funding to the nhs. we reformed welfare by capping benefits and introducing universal credit. the reforms mean that work always pays. we have reduced absolute poverty, child poverty, pensioner poverty. we have cut carbon emissions by a third, maintained our position as nato's second biggest defence power, and boris and ben and grant put the country at the forefront of defending ukraine against russian aggression because britain will always stand up to tyrants. applause we have halved violent and neighbourhood crime thanks to the work of home secretaries from theresa to priti to james, and improved standards in our schools. thanks to a generation of inspiring teachers, english schoolchildren are not just the teachers, english schoolchildren are notjust the best readers in the united kingdom, they are the best in the western world. we strengthened our united kingdom, with the forces of separatism in retreat. we legislated for equal marriage and now it is not even surprising for so many people from diverse backgrounds to sit around our cabinet table. i know you will agree with me we may not have got over them perfectly right, but that is a record i am proud of. cheering this country has a proud past and a bright future. and i believe in that innate confidence in ourselves that has always run through our island story. and just as we have always created, invented and discovered in our past, so we can be optimistic about what we achieve in the future. but i'm not blind to the fact that people are frustrated with our party and frustrated with me. things have not always been easy, and we have not always been easy, and we have not got everything right. but we are the only party in this election with the only party in this election with the big ideas to make our country a better place to live. labour offer no solutions to our problems. they would only make them worse. and all vote for reform or the liberal democrats does is allow labour to do whatever they want to our country. do not forget that keir starmer is asking you to hand him a blank cheque when he hasn't said what he will buy with it or how much it is going to cost you. just think about what labour would mean. higher taxes for every working household. can you afford £2000 more in taxes? french style labour laws that will lead to higher unemployment and more strikes? a ballooning welfare bill, higher immigration and more net zero costs? to their policies will mean as they let slip this weekend bigger class sizes because of their desire to slap vat on school fees. labour would cave in to the demands of the public sector unions, putting up your taxes to meet the unions�* extortionate demand, and keir starmer will also use that blank check to change the rules of the game to his benefit, giving 16—year—olds the vote not because he believes they are adults, he doesn't want to serve on a tsiori or do any of the other things that adults do, but because he thinks they will vote for him, and that will make it harder to remove him from power. if labour win this time, they will change the rules so that they are in power for a very long time. change the rules so that they are in powerfor a very long time. so if you don't know what labour will do, don't vote for it. if you are concerned about what keir starmer isn't telling you, don't vote for him. and if you are worried about what labour's £2094 of tax rises would mean for yourfamily�*s what labour's £2094 of tax rises would mean for your family's tax security, don't vote for them. applause in conclusion, let me say this. we conservatives will always stand for our values, for aspiration, for freedom, for opportunity, for security. your conservative mp will deliver lower taxes, lower immigration, protected pensions and a sensible approach to net zero. 0ur a sensible approach to net zero. our country wants a clear plan and bold action. 0ur country wants a clear plan and bold action. our country needs a secure future, and it is this conservative manifesto that will deliver it. applause cheering thank you. thank you, thank you. right, we've got lots of questions from the media to come, so the fun hasn't stopped. here we go. let's start with gb news. ~ , , ., , news. prime minister, christopher hoe news. prime minister, christopher ho -e from news. prime minister, christopher h°pe from bbc— news. prime minister, christopher hope from bbc news. _ news. prime minister, christopher hope from bbc news. you - news. prime minister, christopher hope from bbc news. you stand l news. prime minister, christopher| hope from bbc news. you stand in front of— hope from bbc news. you stand in front of a _ hope from bbc news. you stand in front of a slogan saying clear plan, bold action, secure future. why not be bold _ bold action, secure future. why not be bold and — bold action, secure future. why not be bold and commit to pulling out of the echr _ be bold and commit to pulling out of the echr if it keeps stopping you stopping — the echr if it keeps stopping you stopping the small boats?- the echr if it keeps stopping you stopping the small boats? thank you, chris. i stopping the small boats? thank you, chris- i have — stopping the small boats? thank you, chris. i have been _ stopping the small boats? thank you, chris. i have been clear _ stopping the small boats? thank you, chris. i have been clear throughout i chris. i have been clear throughout that i believe that our plan is compliant with all our international obligations, but i've also been clear, and the manifest was crystal clear, and the manifest was crystal clear, that if we are forced to choose between the jurisdiction of a foreign court, including the echr, and our country's national security, then i'm going to choose our country bosman national security every single time. applause next, can we go to the ft. prime minister, george _ next, can we go to the ft. prime minister, george parker- next, can we go to the ft. prime minister, george parker from - next, can we go to the ft. primej minister, george parker from the minister, george parkerfrom the financiat— minister, george parkerfrom the financial times. minister, george parkerfrom the financialtimes. i represent —— might— financialtimes. i represent —— might you _ financialtimes. i represent —— might you represent a northern seat, richmond. _ might you represent a northern seat, richmond, you have seen keir starmer campaigning in the north of england. to reflect _ campaigning in the north of england. to reflect on the last five years and consider you may have let down the areas _ and consider you may have let down the areas you promised to level up, and whether indeed there a reckoning coming? _ and whether indeed there a reckoning cominu ? , ., ., �* and whether indeed there a reckoning comina? . ., ., �* ~ ., and whether indeed there a reckoning comina? , ., ., �* ~ ., coming? george, i don't know if you were here before, _ coming? george, i don't know if you were here before, i— coming? george, i don't know if you were here before, i don't— coming? george, i don't know if you were here before, i don't know- coming? george, i don't know if you were here before, i don't know if. were here before, i don't know if you heard the speech from the conservative mayor of teesside who is right here... cheering i will take a second to pay tribute to ben and all our fantastic mps i will take a second to pay tribute to ben and all ourfantastic mps in the tees valley for what they have delivered for the region. then gave you a flavour of it before, because we have been working together since i became an mp. you talk about the north. teesside was an area that labour neglected for decades. took it completely for granted. and it was ben and our mps and councillors that transformed the region, and i was fortunate to be able to work with them to help do that. but if you go round teesside now, every high street and town centre, stockton, darlington, hartlepool, is getting investment from our various levelling up funds. the new brexit enabled freeport is creating unbelievable high—qualityjobs in unbelievable high—quality jobs in the unbelievable high—qualityjobs in the industries of the future. the treasury campus is in darlington, and as ben said, it is one thing for treasury campus to be in the north, but it is not in newcastle, manchester, leeds, it is in darlington, because town matter, which is why we are also backing 130 towns across the country including in the north for £20 million each, so local people can invest in their priorities. but more than any of that, what ben and the team have done, what the conservatives have done, what the conservatives have done, is give everyone in teesside a sense of confidence and optimism about their futures. about theirfutures. applause next can we go to the bbc. thank ou, next can we go to the bbc. thank you. prime _ next can we go to the bbc. thank you, prime minister. _ next can we go to the bbc. thank you, prime minister. chris- next can we go to the bbc. thank| you, prime minister. chris mason, bbc news. for much of the last 18 months, you have tried absolutely everything to revive conservative fortunes and not much appears to have worked. can we rename this document is your last chance saloon? what you think is in this that can shift things that perhaps haven't shifted up until now? thank you. chris, i have been very clear when i got thisjob, we have been for a very difficult time as a country. but thanks to the hard work and resilience of the british people and the actions of the government, we have truly turned a corner. inflation back to normal, the economy growing, wages rising, energy bill is falling. and that is why this election is right to talk about the future. the future that we want to deliver for our country is one where above all families will have financial security because their taxes are being cut. look at what this manifesto contains. a tax cut that everyone in work as we have the right of national insurance. a tax cut for the self—employed, abolishing the rate of self—employed national insurance in the next parliament. a tax cut for pensioners, protecting the state pensioners, protecting the state pension from paying labour's retirement tax in the next parliament because we believe in a country where you have dignity in retirement. a tax cut for parents, because we want to support working families, making sure that they get support, and a tax cut for all young, aspiring homeowners as we abolish first—time buyer stamp duty up abolish first—time buyer stamp duty up to £425,000. abolish first—time buyer stamp duty up to £105,000. that is bold action from this conservative government, this conservative party, to deliver a more secure future. but it doesn't just stop with our tax—cutting agenda. we are spreading opportunity through 100,000 new apprenticeships in a modern form of national service. we are ensuring our border security with a new legal migration cap in parliament and a plan to get the flights of to rwanda, and we are ensuring our country cosmic energy security, but also doing it in a proportionate way that lowers people's bills, does not saddle them with extra costs in an ideological pursuit. that is our manifesto and there is a clear choice at this election. we are the only party putting bold action on the table to transform our country. labour have nothing to say about the problems our country faces and how best to address them, nothing. keir starmer is asking for a blank cheque, and he will not tell people which taxes he is going to put up that are ultimately going to cost them £2000. so if you want to secure future, if you want lower taxes, if you want your pension is protected, and you want your border secure, vote conservative at this election. applause time radio listeners often tell us they are — time radio listeners often tell us they are fed up, nothing works. they care a _ they are fed up, nothing works. they care a lot _ they are fed up, nothing works. they care a lot about the services they use every— care a lot about the services they use every day. there is nothing in this manifesto about the billions of pounds _ this manifesto about the billions of pounds of— this manifesto about the billions of pounds of cuts to local councils, justice. — pounds of cuts to local councils, justice, prisons that are coming down _ justice, prisons that are coming down the — justice, prisons that are coming down the track in the years ahead. what _ down the track in the years ahead. what is _ down the track in the years ahead. what is your— down the track in the years ahead. what is your plan to prevent the nteens— what is your plan to prevent the nreans of— what is your plan to prevent the means of pounds of cuts? investment in day-to-day — means of pounds of cuts? investment in day-to-day public— means of pounds of cuts? investment in day-to-day public services - means of pounds of cuts? investment in day-to-day public services will - in day—to—day public services will continue to rise in the new parliament, continued to rise... but we should look for efficiencies in the public sector, what we have seen is that public sector productivity since the pandemic has declined. quite significantly. as the chester set out a little while ago if we recover the levels of efficiency we had a few years ago, nothing heroic, nothing we haven't done before, that will free up £20 billion. £20 billion that could be reinvested in public services on everyone's behalf without raising a penny of the taxes, think that is the right priority. recoverwhere taxes, think that is the right priority. recover where we used to be before the pandemic, focus on efficiency, productivity, you can see that on the productivity planned for the nhs we have fully funded, that unlocks billions of pounds to reinvest back into the front line to deliver better, high quality services for people because of course i want to see high quality services and as a conservative i don't want to boost taxes to have to go don't want to boost taxes to have to 9° up don't want to boost taxes to have to go up when we can get efficiencies to fund them. applause itv. prime minister, toys and government since 2010 have been pushing _ government since 2010 have been pushing up the tax burden, share of national— pushing up the tax burden, share of national income taken, by tax to levels _ national income taken, by tax to levels we — national income taken, by tax to levels we haven't seen since the late 1940s. why should anybody believe — late 1940s. why should anybody believe you when you say you are going _ believe you when you say you are going to — believe you when you say you are going to cut tax?— believe you when you say you are going to cut tax? simply, robert, because we _ going to cut tax? simply, robert, because we already _ going to cut tax? simply, robert, because we already have! - because we already have! cheering i am upfront with people, i had to take difficult decisions after covid, that was the right thing to do because when i was chance that i thought the right thing to do was porting our country through covid, the nhs, the further scheme, the energy crisis in europe, when it hit was help everyone with their energy bills, that doesn't come for free and everyone watching knows that. don't build up the long—term financial security of the country by shying away from difficult decisions like that. that is not the type of leader i am, i made the difficult decisions, now our plan has worked, inflation is down, wages are rising, the economy is growing, we have started cutting people's taxes, everyone in work is getting a £900 tax at an average thanks to what jeremy has done, cutting taxes for businesses, the most attractive country in the world for businesses to invest, something hundreds of other leading businesses describe as the single most transformational thing we can do for growth and productivity in our country, delivered it. people can trust me when i say we are going to keep cutting their taxes, one because we set out a clear plan to pay for it, because i think there is an opportunity, againjust to reverse some of the damage covid has done to free up an enormous amount of savings we can reinvest in tax cuts but also because that is the type of country believing, that is why you can trust me, i believe in a country where hard work is rewarded. that is why i want to cut taxes for hard working, encouraging small businesses, risk—taking entrepreneurship. i want to cut taxes for the self—employed, everyone should have the ability to own their own homes i want to cut taxes on stamp duty. i believe if you work hard all your life you should have dignity and security in retirement which is why we want to cut taxes for pensioners. and there is nothing more precious than life and my family and i'm sure that is the same for everyone in the room which is why want to support families and cut tax for them too, thatis families and cut tax for them too, that is what you can trust me. applause the daily mail. you are targeting the self-employed _ the daily mail. you are targeting the self-employed year, - the daily mail. you are targeting the self-employed year, do - the daily mail. you are targeting the self-employed year, do you | the daily mail. you are targeting - the self-employed year, do you think the self—employed year, do you think white _ the self—employed year, do you think white van _ the self—employed year, do you think white van man can swing the selection _ white van man can swing the selection for you and in the wider picture. — selection for you and in the wider picture, there is a lot to say and hear— picture, there is a lot to say and hear atrout— picture, there is a lot to say and hear about tax, but nothing about the overall— hear about tax, but nothing about the overall burden in case i have nrissed — the overall burden in case i have nrissed it. — the overall burden in case i have missed it, will overall taxes be lower— missed it, will overall taxes be lower by— missed it, will overall taxes