Tories need to ‘hold our nerve’ amid dire polls, says Mel Stride

0:02Hi, I'm Charlie Duffield and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up later in the show. From flop to phenomenon, why the West End's longest-running musical Les Miserables endures. I have honestly lost count of the number of times I've seen Les Mis. My mum and dad went when it first opened and I remember looking through the old programme and listening to the soundtrack on Loop in the Car. We even went to the 25th anniversary concert, the O2. It was touch and go though whether we'd make it because my mum had just had a double lung transplant, only just being discharged.

0:42But we did and that's how much it meant as a family. I think it endures because it speaks to everyone. Redemption, love, hope and survival. The music is timeless. Hearing the songs they just still give you goosebumps. But first. Today Kemi Bainok is seeking to set out a new Tory policy agenda at the party conference in Manchester. and it's a big day for Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride as he delivered his keynote speech. He said the Conservatives are the only party that will stand up for fiscal responsibility. It comes as the party remains behind Labour and Reform UK in the polls. Earlier Sir Mel Stride told BBC Breakfast that the Conservatives would bring£23 billion in welfare savings if they were to form the next government.

1:29Here's what he had to say. If you look at the savings that we're looking at in welfare, which is£23 billion, that would take us back to the kind of figures we were looking at in 2023. And it's reflective of the fact that these budgets, welfare in particular, have really spiralled completely out of control and under this government heading up into the stratosphere. So it is a serious saving. It is one that is really important in the context of our country now living within its means. And if we don't do that and we carry on borrowing and taxing and spending in the way that we are, we're going to end up in a very dark place.

2:05And it's important that there is at least one party out there that is talking about fiscal responsibility and showing through the things that we're discussing now and the things I'll say in my speech today that we are serious at getting on top of our debt, which otherwise is being passed on to future generations and younger people in particular, and is a real drag anchor on the growth within our economy. His plans also include a policy to reward work by giving people a tax rebate towards their first home. This is being called a first job bonus where£5 ,000 in national insurance would be deposited in a long-term savings account to be put towards buying a home.

2:45He will cut foreign aid spending and the civil service if his party wins the next election and has pledged to abolish business rates for shops and pubs. He insisted that the Tories need to hold our nerve as voters appear to ditch them for Reform UK. Joining us now is The Standard's Chief Political Correspondent, Rachel Burford. Can you remind us what sort of pressure Kemi Badenok is under as Tory leader right now? The Tory party are very much floundering in the polls. She's seen a number of high-profile defections in recent weeks and months from the Conservatives to Reform UK. There does appear to be a lot of voters deciding to go for Nigel Farage's party over the Conservatives, or even switching to the Lib Dems if there are more of a sort of more centrist views.

3:33So the Conservative Party are floundering. On Sunday, when the Tory party conference started, John Curtis, the polling guru, held an event on the fringes of the conference, predicted that undoubtedly the Conservative Party would finish fourth behind the Liberal Democrats. So it's very much not a great outlook for the Tory party going into this conference. So is this conference what you were expecting? Yeah, there's definitely been a bit of a change of tact from Tory party. I think Kemi Badnock, when she became leader, said they weren't going to be announcing new policies until 2027. But that has very much changed.

4:10We saw Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, do his big speech this morning. He announced a raft of new policies, abolishing business rates for high street shops and pubs, plans to slash£47 billion from public spending. And they'd do that by doing things like reducing benefits for people who had minor mental health issues. He said there would be swinging cuts, including£23 billion in saving by preventing people with low-level mental health problems from claiming sickness benefit and restricting welfare eligibility. who also said that they would ensure only British citizens can access welfare.

4:44However, it's sort of come out that EU nationals with settled status could continue to be eligible for that. The tone of his speech was very much the Tory party are going to fight to be trusted by voters again. After we saw the end of the last government where you had that long string of leaders replacing leaders and cabinet ministers every other week and the economy sort of crashing after Liz Truss's budget, they sort of lost a lot of credibility with voters and they're very much seeking to prove themselves as competent on the economy again. Are these plans for proposed cuts actually realistic?

5:20It is a huge amount. You know, it's very easy to say things in opposition. As the Labour Party found out when they tried to cut benefits and cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, they saw huge backlashes to those policies and had to U-turn essentially. I think what was interesting and has gained quite a lot of criticism this morning is Mailstride announced plans to cut foreign aid if they win the next general election. There have been some development organisations that have said that would be an epic act of self-harm and they would be deeply concerned about a policy like that. What they're trying to do though is head off reform essentially.

5:56They're losing a lot of voters, they're losing a lot of their members to reform it seems. Finally, do you think the Tories are in danger of appearing too similar to reform? Yeah, that's definitely a problem for them. They've got these high profile defections to reform. We saw on the eve of the party conference, Keith Prince, who is a London Assembly member, and he's been a former leader, Tory leader of Redbridge Council. He has been a party member for 50 years, and he defected to reform. They've also seen MPs and former MPs defect as well. I think there is a problem. They're sort of chasing the reform vote now because the Conservative Party have this problem in that they lost voters trust completely after the pandemic.

6:37Reformer Nigel Farage haven't got that problem. They've never been in government. They've never been in charge of anything. So they can sort of come out and say all these things. Voters can go, oh, well, yeah, I do like the sound of that. Whereas the Tory party can come out and say all these things. and a lot of people are thinking, well, actually the country wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for Conservative Party policies the last 14 years that they were in charge. Yeah, they do have a bit of a problem. They're losing voters to centrist voters, to the Lib Dems, and they're losing their more right-wing voters to reform.

7:08That's kind of sort of squeezing the middle. It's kind of hard, I think, for a lot of people to see at the moment, what does the Tory party actually stand for. I think they got so used to being in power that now they're out of power. They are kind of floundering a bit and thinking, oh, where do we go from here? We don't know who we're appealing to anymore. Let's go to a break. Coming up in part two, despite once being called a lurid Victorian melodrama, the musical Le Miserable has stood the test of time like no other. We'll see you back here in just a moment. Welcome back.

8:10If I die, let me die. Let him live. Bring him home. Do you hear the people sing?

8:46The world's longest-running musical, Le Miserable, is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a special sold-out charity gala at London's Sondheim Theatre. All proceeds will go to the Felix Project and UK Harvest, two charities tackling hunger in Britain. The musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's great humanitarian novel tells the story of one man's determined survival in the face of another's vengeful persecution, set amid the social and political struggles of 19th century France. More than 150 million people have seen the musical worldwide. It spawned an Oscar-winning film and produced hit songs from I Dreamed a Dream to One Day More that have become anthems beyond the stage.

9:32Nearly 100 performers will take part in the 40th anniversary show, including Patti LuPon, Michael Ball, Alfie Beau, Samantha Barks, Matt Lucas and Frances Ruffel. Joining us now is The Standard's chief celebrity correspondent, Tina Campbell. Tina, Le Mis first opened at the theatre 40 years ago. How was it initially received? The response was actually really brutal from the critics. Some actually said it was Victor Hugo on the garbage dump. They thought it was too dark, too long to ever find an audience, but the public completely disagreed. They queued round the block and word of mouth turned it into a phenomenon.

10:09Forty years later, it's still running and has become a cornerstone of London theatre. Can you remind us of the story and what themes the play explores? It's set in France between 1815 and 1832. It's based on Victor Hugo's 19th century novel and follows Jean Valjean, who's imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread and spends his life seeking redemption while being pursued by Inspector Javert. Along the way, he meets characters like Fontaine, Cosette and the student revolutionaries who rise up to the Paris barricades. It's really about forgiveness, compassion and second chances, but also injustice, love and hope.

10:44And you've spoken to some of the cast members, haven't you? Yes, I got to speak to quite a few of them, both past and present. All of them say how much of an honour, first of all, is to be involved in the 40th Gala, which is taking place on the 8th of October. How on joining Les Miserables, it's like you're joining part of a family. So some of them, for example, started out on the ensemble and they've worked their way up and they'll speak about how nurturing it is and that once you join, you never really leave. Alfie Boe told me, each new cast makes it their own. He said, no two Valjeans are ever the same.

11:14Bradley Jaden, who's playing Javert, compared the show to an apprenticeship. You learn, grow and pass it on. So what about its international reputation? It's been performed in 55 countries and translated into 22 languages. When the cast toured to Japan, where it's been running for almost 40 years, audiences gave it standing ovations every night. And when it opened in Italy for the first time, it was a real moment in theatre history. The story of music crossed every language barrier. The emotion is universal. So are you a super fan yourself? Yes, I know all the words. and I will single-handedly try to sing one day more by myself in the car.

11:51Don't care who's listening. Did you try to buy tickets for this special anniversary run? You had to sign up for a special sort of priority access and it told you to log on about an hour before. I was in that virtual queue. The minute it struck the time, it said I was number 2 ,000, God knows what else. And sadly, after 45 minutes, there was that message that said they've all gone. Alfie Bo said he'd sort me out some tickets, but I don't think that's going to happen, sadly. Do you have a favourite character or song? Yes, Eponine has always been my favourite. It's actually my karaoke song, though it kind of brings the tone down a bit.

12:23It's on my own. I don't care, I love that song. And it's that mix of strength and vulnerability that everyone connects with. I think every young girl who loves Fear to dreams of playing her, even Taylor Swift auditioned for the film and didn't get it. She's such an iconic character and that song still gives me chills every time. She's just this very spunky, fearless character in love with one of the main characters, but it's unrequited. In 2025 we're still in a cost of living crisis. Life is tough for many right now. Do you think the themes of the musical are more relevant than ever? Yes I mean there's even talks that there could be a revolution in America with the way things are going so I think the themes in it are definitely timeless.

13:01Why do you think it stood the test of time? I think one thing that is just the thing about Les Mis that sets it apart certainly the West End production is just how synonymous it is with the West End, because 40 years is an incredible achievement in anything, but especially in theatre. Another thing that the cast spoke about was how the show survived during COVID. It was one of the first to reopen and did so as a concert format. I mean, it only stayed open for, I think, about eight performances due to what was going on. But this is a show that has really survived. Not only survived, it's thrived, because it's still being performed all around the world.

13:35And even in countries where it has been translated, it's now being performed in English language concerts, such is The Demand. You just don't get shows that stick around even for maybe two years. It has also toured regionally, but you know, the West End, it has maintained its presence. And that is such a hard thing to do, especially in today's climate. And so it's very unusual. I think there are only a couple of other shows that have stayed about for a while, I think. Well, The Mousetrap is obviously the longest, but this is definitely the longest musical. But I do think Phantom of the Opera is one of the other longest ones.

14:04Finally, can people still see Le Miserable performed? Oh, 100 % it's still running. People can and should go see it. It's on at the Sondheim Theatre in the West End and may it be for a long time more. The one thing I will say for people who haven't seen it is that it is all singing because I know a couple of people have gone and they've been like, oh, I didn't know it's going to be all singing, but it literally is. There's no speaking. It is all singing.

14:30and that's the standard for all the latest news head to standard.co.uk if you'd like to get in touch please do drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk we'll be back here tomorrow at 5pm we'll see you then