Follow along for live updates…
5.25: Farage’s speech interrupted by protesters.
Farage: “Oh no, we’ve got a screamer!”
5.00: Farage’s speech delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
14.49: Guido has been chatting to delegates. Click here to watch…
13.33: Guido spotted a Byline Times crew posing as Patriot News. They’ve been removed from Conference…
12.03: Main stage proceedings finally underway. Nigel Farage on stage for tribute to Ann Widdecombe.
11.56: Zia Yusuf pulls out of his in-conversation event with Michael Gove.
11.49: “Security” issues over. Main stage tribute to Ann Widdecombe to start in less than ten minutes.
11.28: Jeremy Kyle saying the 30-minute delay to main proceedings is “It’s a security thing in terms of getting people in.”
11.25: Zia Yusuf has released an origin story video.
11.14am: Labour has hired an advert van to drive around outside the NEC saying: “You have 5 million questions to answer, Nigel. Tell us about the money.”
11.09am: Delay at main auditorium which was supposed to start with tributes to Ann Widdecombe at 11:05, huge queues causing chaos, police involved.
10.32am: There is a huge queue to enter the main area. Some Novara Media cameramen are stuck outside having been blocked in the great cull of a small number of journalists.
10.30am: Welcome to Guido’s live blog for Reform Conference. We’ll be updating this page throughout the day with all the latest news, gossip, and tittle-tattle on the ground at the NEC. Pictures and videos coming. Stay tuned…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”