The message the Tories want you to leave their conference with is that they are the party of prudence. The party of fiscal responsibility who will make the first ‘serious down payments’ on the size of the state, as shadow chancellor Mel Stride explained at a Spectator drinks reception last night.

Today, he will set out his plan to achieve that. Stride will ‘recommit’ his party to ‘fiscal prudence’ by announcing £47 billion in savings for the public purse. Those measures include:

Welfare reforms that will include stopping claims from people with ‘low level mental health problems’ and foreigners and reversing any lifting of the two-child benefit cap to bring the welfare bill down by £23 billion.

Cutting 132,000 jobs from the civil service to save £8 billion.

Making £7 billion in saving

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