Image source, Getty Images

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey closed out the final day of conference with a keynote speech.

Perhaps the biggest policy reveal was the pledge that a Liberal Democrat government would, within five years, raise the personal tax allowance to £15,000.

He paired this with a promise to increase the 40% tax threshold from £50,000 to £56,000.

These tax cuts would be funded through economic growth that would be achieved through a "bold new partnership with Europe", he stated. The vision he laid out included re-joining the EU single market and the customs union.

These tax cuts would benefit the better off the most, says our political correspondent Harry Farley, who notes that won’t go down universally well among Lib Dem MPs and activists.

Davey also had stern words for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and on artificial intelligence, where he called for a "global treaty to press pause... before it's too late".

He will be hoping his speech was enough to assuage Davey's some murmurings of discontent within his party. On Sunday, the leader of Devon County Council warned that the party was "sleep walking into irrelevance", and another councillor told the BBC earlier that the Lib Dems' messaging was not "cutting through".

• We're ending our live coverage now, but you can read more about Ed Davey's speech in our news article.

As we reported earlier, Ed Davey said that the Lib Dems would raise the 40% tax band threshold to £56,000 if they form a government.

How much income tax you pay depends on how much you earn and the amount of money you have to pay tax on, which is also known as your personal allowance.

Usually earners do not pay any tax on the first £12,570 they earn.

They then pay a 20% basic tax rate on anything they earn between £12,571 and £50,270.

In other words they pay 20p in every pound they earn between £12,571 and £50,270.

Earners pay a 40% higher rate of tax on anything they earn between £50,271 and £125,140.

This means they pay 40p in every pound they earn on £50,271 up to £125,140.

Under the Liberal Democrat's plans, earners would not start paying the higher 40% tax rate until they earned £56,000.

How much would the Lib Dem tax cuts cost?published at 16:23 BST 22 September

16:23 BST 22 September

By Anthony Reuben

The big policy reveal in Ed Davey’s speech is the pledge that within five years a Liberal Democrat government would increase:

• The amount people can earn before they start paying income tax or National Insurance - from £12,570 to £15,000
• The amount before they start paying the higher rate of income tax - from £50,270 to £56,000
• The amount before they start paying the additional rate - from £125,140 to £130,000

All of those rates are currently frozen. The Liberal Democrats said the tax cuts coming in the fifth year of a Lib Dem government would be paid for by the “dividends” that would come from a deal to get closer to the European Union in year one.

They said the House of Commons Library estimated the package would cost £17bn in the fifth year.

I’ve spoken to Stuart Adam at the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank who told me the policy as set out in the press release would cost “much more than £17bn”.

As a comparison, Reform UK’s policy is to just raise the income tax threshold to £15,000, which Reform estimated would cost £21bn by the fifth year.

The Lib Dems say their policy would be funded by an extra £27bn brought about by its plans for a growth and defence pact with the European Union.

How long that would take to negotiate and what impact it would have on the public finances is uncertain.

Davey's attack on Reform went down well among party memberspublished at 16:06 BST 22 September

16:06 BST 22 September

Harry Farley
Political correspondent at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton

Ed Davey knows opposition to Reform UK motivates his activists. His attack on Nigel Farage went down well here in the conference hall.

But there are relatively few areas where Liberal Democrats will be fighting Reform UK directly. Their principle opponents in most constituencies are the Conservatives.

But Davey’s strategy is to persuade Tory voters, who dislike the direction Kemi Badenoch is taking her party, to switch to the Lib Dems. And an attack on Reform is likely to appeal to those voters too.

His pledge on tax cuts is similar to the one announced by Reform UK. But the clear distinction - and the dividing line Davey wants to draw - is how to pay for that cut.

Reform UK say they would reduce the amount spent on benefits to pay for tax cuts.

Davey wants to put the EU back into the political debate in the UK and claims rejoining the Single Market and a customs union could create economic growth to pay for these cuts.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, EPA

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has outlined his party's goals and potential future policies in his keynote speech at the party's conference in Brighton.

Here's are the policies announced by Davey, should the Lib Dems form the next government:

• The party will raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000, from £12,570, which Davey says will give "most taxpayers" a £680 tax cut
• He also says the party would increase the threshold for the 40% tax band, from £50,000 to £56,000
• Davey says these tax cuts will not be funded by spending cuts or borrowing, but through growth achieved through closer ties to Europe
• The Lib Dem government would also seek to re-join the EU single market, Davey revealed, "bringing down barriers to trade, breathing life into our economy"

During his speech, Davey warned of the threat of "extremely well-funded" groups on the "far-right", adding that "that is not our country. That is not who we are".

He said "populists" were exploiting the loneliness of young people who feel "fed up" with a political system that they feel cannot deliver for them.

On artificial intelligence, Davey stressed the need for a global treaty to "press pause on super-intelligent AI now, before it’s too late", comparing the threat to both nuclear weapons and climate change.

Concluding his speech, the Lib Dem leader said his party wants the UK to be a "richer", "safer" and "more liberal" country with "more money in people’s pockets".

Lib Dems go step further on tax free personal allowancepublished at 15:45 BST 22 September

15:45 BST 22 September

Harry Farley
Political correspondent at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton

A party leader’s speech is always the central moment of a political conference and it’s guaranteed to get covered.

So the choice of what the main announcement is tells us a lot about the party’s ambitions and focus.

And, uniquely for the Liberal Democrats compared to other parties so far, these tax cuts would benefit the better off the most.

Notably Reform UK – Davey's bete noire – made exactly the same commitment on raising the tax free personal allowance its conference two weeks’ ago.

But the Liberal Democrat go one step further. They also want to raise the threshold at higher earners start to pay the 40p rate of tax from £50,270 to £56,000.

Davey’s argument is because the amount you can earn before you start paying higher rates has been frozen, a "tax band designed for stockbrokers is now holding back teachers and nurses".

That won’t go down universally well among Lib Dem MPs and activists. One MP told me privately they wished the party would instead focus on winning over younger voters by reducing the interest on student loan repayments.

Davey says his party intends to "put more money in people’s pockets and more power in people’s hands" while building a country that is "richer", "safer" and "more liberal".

In this country, he says where you're from or what you look like "will never determine whether you belong here or how far you can go.

"This is a fight for the future of our country. A fight for liberty, equality and community. A fight for the values we hold dear," he tells the conference.

"This is the fight of our lives. And we are going to win it," he adds.

That concludes Davey's speech, stick with us and we'll be providing analysis reaction to the Lib Dem leader's speech.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA

Davey says that the UK is a "country being held back" by governments that failed it and a system that is broken.

He says the Liberal Democrats will give the "British people the power and the freedom to take our country forward".

He says his party's task is to win "the fight of our lives" against forces that would tear the country apart.

Davey says that Lib Dems "will stand and fight for the country we love".

Davey now looks back on the Lib Dems time in government, saying the party "rightly focused on raising the personal allowance – but let more people fall into the 40p income tax band".

This 40% tax – which currently applies to those earning roughly between £50,000 and £125,000 – was "designed for stockbrokers" but "is now holding back teachers and nurses", Davey says.

He announces that the Lib Dems will raise the 40% tax band threshold to £56,000 if elected to power.

They will do this by growing the UK economy through a closer relationship with Europe, he says.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton

Sustained applause when Davey announced he wants to raise the tax threshold to £15,000 and enthusiastic nodding and clapping from the MPs lined up behind him.

A shout of "shameful" comes from the audience as Davey says Reform want to cut taxes by taking £22bn from disabled people, an issue close to his heart because he has a disabled son.

Davey tells the conference that they may have heard Reform UK make a similar announcement on tax-free personal allowance at their party conference earlier this month - but says there are key differences.

"Reform's figures show they’d pay for it by ripping £22bn of crucial support away from disabled people," says Davey.

Instead, Davey says his party would pay for the increase in personal allowance through "growth of a stronger economy", not borrowing, spending cuts or stealth tax rises.

We will pay for tax cuts "from the dividends from growth - the growth that comes from our bold new partnership with Europe".

Closer ties with Europe will bring the growth, says Davey, adding that "growth brings tax revenue".

"We did it before. We can do it again," he adds.

Davey announces a plan to raise tax-free personal allowance to £15,000, to applause from attendees.

"Taking two million more people out of paying tax altogether, and giving most taxpayers a £680 tax cut."

He says this will put "real money back in people's pockets".

Image source, Getty Images

He continues by saying tackling the cost of living starts with income tax.

Davey says both Labour and the Tories have taken money "out of people's pockets" by freezing tax-free personal allowance and raising income tax.

He says that when the Lib Dems were in government - during the coalition with the Tories - they raised the personal allowance by £4,000 which took "three million people out of paying income tax altogether".

"It was a profoundly liberal thing to do. Rewarding hard work and aspiration. Helping the lowest paid the most," he adds.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

Loudest applause yet for Davey's tax pledges, and whistling as he talks about re-joining the EU single market and customs union.

Davey says the UK economy has been brought to this point by Brexit.

The Conservatives' "botched" Brexit deal "tied up British businesses in costs and red tape" and "pushed up prices on our supermarket shelves", he says.

Keir Starmer's Labour government then made things worse with tax hikes and infighting, Davey says, adding that Starmer's successor, Andy Burnham, "refuses to open the door to the European single market".

The Lib Dems are fighting to put Britain "at the heart of Europe", Davey states.

Davey began speech with punchy attack on Reform UKpublished at 15:28 BST 22 September

15:28 BST 22 September

Harry Farley
Political correspondent at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton

Image source, Getty Images

Ed Davey opened his speech with a sombre tone and a punchy attack on Reform UK.

He doesn’t call Nigel Farage’s party fascists but he draws a link between the fascists in Britain in the 1930s with what he calls “thugs, in black shirts and balaclavas” in reference to the protests in Dover and Portsmouth in recent weeks.

"This is a far-right movement that is given oxygen, and heat, and fuel by politicians and parties who claim to be serious contenders to lead our country," he said. His solution is "community politics" that he argues is the hallmark of the Lib Dems.

"It will take more than a manifesto. It will take a movement, rooted in decency, fairness and community. British values. Liberal values," he said.

Turning to maternity care, Davey says that "inquiry after inquiry" has found that giving birth in the UK is "not always safe".

He says a maternity system "stretched far beyond its limits" and midwives "doing their best, but exhausted" in buildings that aren't fit for purpose "shames our country".

Davey says the Lib Dems would give mothers the "one-to-one" care they need, adding that the UK should be the safest place to give birth and also the best country in which to raise a family.

However he says this cannot be the case while "families are being crushed by rising bills".

Davey now turns his attention to his son John and explains that when he was small the Lib Dem leader and his wife were told that he would spend his life permanently in a wheelchair.

He says the couple refused to accept that and sought therapy that helps his muscles and learnt exercises to help John control his body.

Davey says that "slowly but surely" with a lot of help they have empowered their son to hold his own weight and walk if aided.

He says too many social service systems "don't empower people like John" and that his family have been incredibly fortunate while the fight for most people is "much harder".

The Lib Dem leader says real care does not just manage people "it unlocks their potential" - and that is what he is fighting for.

Flanking Ed Davey while he gives his speech are MPs from his party.

Among them are Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, and environment spokesperson Tim Farron - who has previously served as party leader.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Davey says it is time to "rise up" to the challenge of super-intelligent AI.

He warns Burnham's AI defence partnership with the US "only risks making us more dependent on" Trump's administration.

"We need a global treaty to press pause on super-intelligent AI now, before it’s too late," he says.

He suggests a new International AI Safety Agency should be formed "to stop anyone from developing this technology recklessly".