 I'm Amanda Milling. Having been a member of the party for over 20 years, I'm incredibly proud to be your Conservative party co-chairman. Since being appointed in February, I've been touring all of the seats that we gained from Labour and the Lib Dems at the election. Let's have a look what's in here. In 2019, millions of people put their faith in us, and it's my priority to make sure we pay back that trust and to deliver for them. Black Ball was one of the blue bricks that we won in the general election last December, and it was towns like this that we promised to level up, and that's absolutely what we are committed to doing. Hi everyone, it's just after half past 11, and I hope you're sitting comfortably. Welcome to our first ever virtual conference, and my first is co-chairman of the Conservative party. 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 Colburn-Baber, and to the entire team who put so much effort into this virtual conference. Now, this might not be the party conferences we know it, but it's 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 that warm white wine in crowded rooms, you'll be able to enjoy chilled white wine from the comforts of your living room. And I'd encourage you all to visit every part of the conference, and I look forward to answering your questions at the Meet the Chairman event tomorrow night. You'll get to put myself and Ben Elliott, my fantastic co-chairman, through our paces. Ben, alongside my predecessor, James Cleveley, made sure the campaign machine was ready and raring to go last year. And it was their hard work, and the many hours you spent on the doorstep, in the cold and the dark, that helped us to live that triumphant win back in December 2019. And I cannot thank you all enough for all the work that you did. But there's one person who made it all possible. One person responsible for the celebrations across the country as the exit poll dropped at 10pm on the 12th of December. As the country breathed a national sigh of relief as Labour strongholds turned blue in Blythe Valley, Sedgefield and Bolsaver. 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 eight 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's seen the country come together to fight the virus. And 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, supermarket workers who kept our country running throughout lockdown, the army of volunteers that held our communities together, the British businesses, the gin makers that became distillers of hand sanitizer, 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 Chancellor's 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, your family and keep the country going. And as we continue to fight coronavirus, we're 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 make your lives better. Since our Prime Minister took office, we've 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 and the largest ever cash increase in the national living wage. And we got Brexit done. And this is what a one nation Conservative government can achieve when it's ambitious about unleashing Britain's potential. We've 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've never done so before. Those votes saw the red wall become the blue wall. Those votes got us Mark Jenkinson in Workington, Leonici in Grimsbury, Brendan Clarke-Smith in Bassetlaw. Just a handful of the fantastic new MPs we have working hard to deliver for their constituents. But we're only here 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-chairmen I'll 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 Canock 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 we still have 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 without the generosity of the Conservative family, without the support of the Conservative campaign machine, I would not be standing here today. And that's why I am delighted to announce that we're launching the Blue Wall Fund, a fund to support these new MPs to campaign and win in future elections. And with your help this fund will give them the support and the tools they need and keep those seats blue. Since becoming co-chairmen of the party I have visited all 58 seats that were gained from the opposition in December. I've seen and heard firsthand how happy these people are to have a Conservative MP on the green benches and Boris Johnson in number 10. I've seen how affected these new MPs are, how hard they're fighting for their constituents by giving them a chance to have their voices heard for the first time in years. People put their faith in us and now discovering what it's like to have an MP committed to them. And we're determined to show our commitment to the Blue Wall seats. And that's why I'm absolutely 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 the people is to be there. Conference, let me reassure you though. Our determination to deliver does not stop with these new seats that we won in the Midlands and North. We will still continue to support MPs and activists across the country, from the home counties to the Brecon Beacons, from Penrith to Penzans. We're committed to building a better and stronger country for everyone. But imagine what the alternative could have been. Secure advocating for his second referendum, Jeremy Corbyn using the pandemic to break up the union. John McDonnell and his trade union buddies threatening businesses. Diane Aber, 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 people know it. For too long Labour took for granted the hardworking tax payers who wanted to see Britain succeed. They scorned the opinions of the very people who put them in Parliament. And now Secure thinks he can win back their hearts and minds by claiming he's on their side. But let's not forget. This is a man who loyally served in Corbyn 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 that he would 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 Secure'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 Secure, because we've got a bumper crop of elections next year. And there's an avid campaign in myself. I'll be out there pounding the streets. So I hope that you've rested your legs over the last few months and have got your delivery bags to the ready and that your boots too. Because next year is busy with local elections, police and crime commissioner elections, mayorals and elections in Scotland and Wales. These elections will give us the chance to return hard work in Conservative representatives and get even more Conservatives delivering for communities up and down the country. Conservatives who are committed to helping the country come back better and stronger. In Wales and Scotland, we've got a 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's. 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. And I hope you'll be out with me on the doorstep 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, east to west, we're taking the time to look under the bonnet of the party to make it work even 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 part of it. Together we will work to make our party bigger, better, 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 us show people around the country that it's the Conservatives who will build back better, build back bolder, build back stronger and deliver for every part and region of the United Kingdom.