Conservative Party conference day three: More updates, irreverent comments, whinges and cheers (From Worcester News)

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Give us a cuddle then, love.

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Cameron's speech round-up: David Cameron today set out plans to build "an aspiration nation" as he closed the Conservative conference with a speech promising to get "Britain on the rise".

In a sometimes sombre address, the Prime Minister warned that the UK faces an "hour of reckoning" in which the decisions it makes will determine whether it will "sink or swim, do or decline".

The financial crash, coupled with the rise of new economic powers around the globe, mean that Britons can no longer assume that their country will be able to continue to earn its living as a major industrial country, he said.

But he told delegates that he was confident that Britain can "rise to the challenge" if it harnesses the "individual aspiration and effort" of all its people, no matter what background they came from.

He promised to support "the doers, the risk takers" and to push through reforms to deliver "a strong private sector, welfare that works, schools that teach".

And he explained how the example of his disabled father had taught him that the key to success in life - and Britain's recovery from recession - was "not complicated... Hard work. Strong families. Taking responsibility. Serving others."

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David Cameron addresses the conference.

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Colleagues praise Cameron's speech: David Cameron delivered a deeply personal party conference speech that will reach out to voters across Britain, Cabinet ministers said today.

Senior Tory Ken Clarke praised the Prime Minister for setting out a "serious argument" for welfare and education reform and avoiding "populist claptrap".

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said Mr Cameron outdid Labour leader Ed Miliband, who was widely praised for his platform speech at the Labour conference last week.

Mr Clarke, minister without portfolio, said: "I was very impressed. It was a serious speech by a man in office dealing with serious problems.
"It had all the nice personal touches, it had some applause lines, no populist claptrap.

"He really got across what we have to achieve to compete in the modern world and he actually made a serious argument for welfare reform, for education reform and why we have to get the deficit under control and not fudge it.

"It was worth listening to as a speech even allowing for the context of a party conference."

Mr Paterson said: "It was absolutely tremendous, it is exactly what we are all talking about.

"It was a much better speech than (Ed) Miliband, this is the real world."

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "I'm pretty sure we had another example of where David connects not just with the audience here but also in the wider world."

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said simply: "I thought it was fabulous."

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David Cameron and his wife Samantha arrive at the conference.

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Cameron's tribute to his dad: David Cameron revealed the inspiration he drew from his "eternal optimist" father Ian in a deeply personal passage in his conference speech today.

The Prime Minister's father died aged 77 following a stroke while on holiday in France in 2010, just four months after his son entered Downing Street.

The Conservative leader told activists at his party's conference in Birmingham that his father "influenced me much more than I ever thought".

Ian Cameron was born in 1932 with both legs shortened below the knee and his feet twisted. He endured numerous operations to ease his pain, and eventually both limbs had to be amputated.

But despite his disability - and later losing the sight in one eye - he still forged a successful career as a stockbroker.

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Preview of Cameron's speech: David Cameron is to warn that Britain faces a stark choice in turbulent economic times - "Sink or swim. Do or decline."

Countries such as the UK are confronting an "hour of reckoning" in the global race for economic recovery, and those which fail to take the right decisions may not return to the prosperity they enjoyed before the financial crash, the Prime Minister will say.

The grim message comes in a speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham which aides characterised as a "serious and frank analysis of the challenges facing the country" which will affirm the PM's determination to stick to his Plan A of deficit reduction.

Labour's alternative Plan B, of borrowing more in the hope of boosting growth, would "hurt the economy and hit people hard" by forcing up interest rates, he will warn.

In a highly personal speech, Mr Cameron will explain how his family history helped form his political beliefs, which he will sum up as "Hard work. Strong families. Taking responsibility. Serving others."

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Good morning and welcome to day three of our Conservative Party conference live report. Leave your comments at the end of this story or tweet #ToriesWN.