Amanda Milling's speech to the Conservative Party Conference

Amanda Milling, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, speaking today at Conservative Party Virtual Conference

“As a West Midlands MP I’m sorry we can’t be together in Birmingham this year with our brilliant Mayor Andy Street.

But the Conservative family has still been able to come together.

And over 20,000 of you have signed up. More than ever before from every region of the UK.

Thank you to our Conference Chairman Andrew Coleborne-Baber and to the entire team who have put this virtual conference together.

Now this may not be Party Conference as we know it.

But this is still your conference.

There are still the big speeches from the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister.

There’s still an exhibition space.

And plenty of fringe events for you to take part in.

The only difference is rather than warm white wine in crowded rooms, you’ll be able to enjoy chilled white wine from the comfort of your living room.

I would encourage you all to visit every part of the Conference and I look forward to answering all your questions at the meet the Co-Chairmen event tomorrow night.

You’ll get to put myself and Ben Elliot, my fantastic Co-Chairman, through our paces.

Ben, alongside my predecessor, James Cleverly, made sure the campaign machine was ready and raring to go last year.

It was their hard work and the many hours YOU spent on the doorstep in the cold and the dark that helped us to deliver that triumphant win back in December 2019 and I cannot thank you all enough for all the work you did.

But there’s one person who made it all possible

One person responsible for the celebrations across the country as that exit poll dropped at 10pm on the 12th December

As the country breathed a national sigh of relief as Labour strongholds turned blue in Blyth Valley, Sedgefield and Bolsover

One person… that delivered that momentous victory

Our Prime Minister…

Boris Johnson

And on behalf of the Conservative Party – thank you Boris!

No one could have predicted how much life would change in 2020.

The last 8 months have been incredibly difficult for this country.

The Coronavirus has seen people lose loved ones, it’s separated us from family and forced us to radically change the way we live to keep each other safe.

But it has seen the country come together to fight the virus

I want to put on record the Party’s thanks to:

The NHS and social care workers, the police and fire services who went above and beyond the call of duty
The bus drivers, delivery drivers and supermarket workers who kept the country running throughout lockdown
The army of volunteers that held our communities together
The British businesses – the gin makers that became distillers of hand sanitiser and the manufacturers that switched production to build the ventilators the country needed

At a time of crisis, the country came together, backed up by this Conservative government

From the Chancellors tremendous interventions to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods.
To the tireless work of the Health Secretary in preparing the NHS to deal with this terrible pandemic

We took unprecedented measures to protect you, and your family and to keep the country going.

As we continue to fight the Coronavirus we are determined to deliver on what you voted for - a One Nation Conservative Party committed to building a better country, that will always back you and work to make your lives better.

Since the Prime Minister took office we have delivered on our promises to the British people:

We’ve delivered the biggest ever cash boost for the NHS
Thousands more doctors and nurses
More police officers
Record funding for our schools
The largest ever cash increase in the National Living Wage
AND we got Brexit done

This is what a One Nation Conservative government can achieve when it is ambitious about unleashing Britain’s potential.

We have only been able to achieve all of this since December because millions of people put their faith in us after years of arguing about Brexit.

Those votes mean we now represent parts of the country we never have before.

Those votes saw the red wall become the blue wall.

Those votes got us:

Mark Jenkinson in Workington
Lia Nici in Grimsby
Brendan Clarke-Smith in Bassetlaw

Just a handful of the fantastic new MPs who are working hard to deliver for their constituents.

We are only where we are today because millions of people in historically Labour seats saw us as the only choice to take the country forward.

And mark my words the Conservative Party will not forget this.

As Co-Chairman I will be leading the charge to make sure we pay that trust back.

My seat was one of the first bricks in the blue wall.

In 2015 I was elected to represent the former mining area of Cannock Chase.

A win that laid the foundations of the blue wall we see today.

But as one of those first bricks

I know the challenges people have faced in these towns

And the challenges that we still need to overcome

I know the challenges of fighting a marginal seat.

I know the challenges of fighting a seat without an army of activists helping you.

And that’s why we must support these new MPs and the troops on the ground there

I know that without the generosity of the Conservative family

Without the support of the Conservative campaign machine

I would not be standing here today

It’s why I’m delighted to announce that we are launching the Blue Wall Fund.

A fund to help support these new MPs to campaign and win future elections.

And with your help this fund will give them the support and tools they need.

And keep those seats blue.

Since becoming Co-Chairman of the Party, I have visited all 58 seats we gained from the opposition in December.

I have seen and heard firsthand how happy people are to have a Conservative MP on the green benches….and Boris Johnson in Number 10.

I’ve seen how effective these new MPs are, how hard they’re fighting for their constituents by giving them the chance to have their voices heard for the first time in years.

People who put their faith in us are discovering what it is like to have an MP committed to them.

We are determined to show our commitment to the blue wall seats

That’s why I am thrilled to announce that CCHQ will be opening a headquarters in Leeds.

This new headquarters will provide the Party with a base at the heart of the blue wall

Because we’re in it for the long haul.

The best way we can deliver for people there is to be there

Conference, let me also reassure you, our determination to deliver does not stop with new seats we won in the Midlands and the North.

We will continue to support MPs and activists across the country.

From the home counties to the Brecon Beacons.

From Penrith to Penzance we are committed to building a better and stronger country for everyone.

Labour broken promises

Imagine what the alternative could have been

Sir Keir advocating for his second referendum
Jeremy Corbyn using this pandemic to break up the Union
John McDonnell and his trade union buddies threatening businesses
Diane Abbott weakening the police instead of empowering them to do their job and keep us safe

The truth is Labour couldn’t be trusted under Corbyn and they cannot be trusted under their new leader either.

And the British public know it.

For too long Labour took for granted the hardworking taxpayers who wanted to see Britain succeed.

They scorned the opinions of the very people who put them in Parliament.

And now Sir Keir thinks he can win back their hearts and minds by claiming he’s on their side.

But let’s not forgot this is a man who loyally served in Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet
A man who tried to stop Brexit over 40 times
A man who supported McDonnell’s plans to bankrupt our economy
A man who said he’d be a constructive opposition leader only for his Shadow Education Secretary to say the pandemic was a “good crisis” to exploit

Labour’s leader may have changed

But it’s clear they still can’t be trusted to deliver on the people’s priorities.

Because Sir Keir Starmer’s priorities are the priorities of North London, not Northern England.

Only the Prime Minister and the Conservatives are delivering on the promises we made to the British people

But that’s enough about Sir Keir Starmer.

We’ve got a bumper crop of elections next year, and as an avid campaigner I will be out there pounding the streets.

So I hope you have rested your legs over the last few months and have your delivery bags and boots at the ready

Because next year is busy with:

Local elections
Police and Crime Commissioner elections
Mayorals
AND elections in Scotland and Wales

These elections give us the chance to return our hardworking Conservative representatives and get even more Conservatives delivering for communities up and down the country.

Conservatives who are committed to helping the country to come back better and stronger.

In Wales and Scotland we have the chance to strengthen our Union with Paul Davies, leading the charge in Wales

And Douglas Ross, the new Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, taking the fight to the SNP.

As the Conservative and Unionist Party it is vital, we work together across our great country to ensure people in all four parts can have the best lives possible.

I hope you’ll be out on the doorstep with me because we’ve seen how effective we can be when we work together as one strong team.

We need to build on the success of 2019.

We can do that by having a Party that’s fighting fit.

And that’s why Ben and I will be working to build an even more effective campaigning machine to successfully fight elections over the next decade and beyond.

From North to South, from East to West we are taking the time to look under the bonnet of the Party to make it work better for you.

We’ve succeeded as the oldest political Party because of our ability to change and adapt.

Our win in 2019 changed the fabric of our country and we need to change to reflect that.

This is a really exciting time for the Conservatives and I want you to be a part of it.

Together we will work to make our Party bigger, better and stronger than ever before

So let’s use Virtual Conference to share new ideas

Let’s use it to strengthen the Conservative Party family

And remind us of our Conservative values of freedom, fairness and aspiration.

The values that bring our towns, cities, villages and communities together.

Let’s use it to show people around the country that it is the Conservatives who will build back better, build back bolder, build back stronger and deliver for every region of the United Kingdom.”