Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has warned against his party becoming Reform UK, as he made his pitch to party members.

Speaking from the main stage at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Tugendhat said the Tories needed to “rebuild trust” with the public, after the party’s historic election defeat in July.

Rival leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch said she was prepared to work with Nigel Farage’s party in Parliament but ruled out an electoral pact.

Tugendhat and Badenoch were the first contenders to speak in the main hall, with Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly getting their chance on Tuesday.

Both candidates were interviewed by GB News political editor Christopher Hope, before taking questions from party members.

In July the Tories suffered their worst general election defeat in the party’s parliamentary history, losing votes to both the Liberal Democrats on the left and Reform UK on the right.

Asked whether the Lib Dems or Reform were the biggest enemy, Tugendhat, who is from the centrist One Nation wing of the party, said: “The enemy is trust. We have eroded trust in ourselves and we need to rebuild trust in the Conservative Party.”

He argued people did not vote for Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to become prime minister.

“They voted against us. People woke up in the morning and they wanted to get us out,” he added.

Asked whether he would do a deal with Mr Farage, he said: “My job is to reform the Conservative Party not to become Reform.”

When the same questions were put to Badenoch, she said “anyone who’s not a Conservative has got to be defeated”.

She argued Reform politicians were not “real Conservatives” and “not serious people” but that Reform voters “are our people”.

Pressed over whether she would do a deal with Farage’s party, she said: “I am always prepared to work with any other party that wants to help us deliver our agenda. I think that’s fine in Parliament, but in an election, no.”

She added: “At the next election we have to be the centre-right option. If we split that vote, we are going to be out of power for another five years and Labour will destroy this country.”

During the session Tugendhat, a former officer in the Territorial Army who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeatedly highlighted his military background, saying “my entire life has been about public service”.

However, he was challenged over whether he was the most inexperienced candidate, given the only government role he has previously held is security minister.

Tugendhat shrugged off the question with a dig at his rivals’ lack of military record, saying: “I’m not going to hold against anybody their inexperience in combat or their inexperience in foreign affairs.

“I won’t hold against them the areas where they didn’t serve their country and put their lives on the line. They have served in other ways and I think we should respect that.”

Meanwhile, Badenoch faced questions about her suggestion on Sunday that maternity pay had “gone too far”.

The shadow housing secretary insisted she had been answering a different question and that “maternity pay is quite important”.

She added that her comments were part of a “long discussion about the role of the state in deciding what businesses should do”.

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Chinese equities posted their best day since the 2008 global financial crisis on Monday, extending a historic rally triggered by Beijing’s bumper stimulus package.

China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed companies soared 8.5 per cent on Monday, as investors piled in ahead of a public holiday for the rest of the week for Golden Week celebrations.

The move continued a rally that started last week when first the People’s Bank of China, followed by the politburo led by President Xi Jinping, pledged widespread monetary and fiscal stimulus measures to support flagging economic growth.

The rally marks a stark turnaround for the Chinese market, which has suffered big falls over the past three and a half years as foreign investors flee in the face of concerns about a slowing economy and a slow-burning crisis in real estate.

“We do think this equity market rally could go a bit further,” said Manik Narain, head of emerging markets strategy at UBS. “I would say from here another 5 to 10 per cent rally would not look extreme in our opinion.”

Daily trading volumes were the highest in nine years, according to LSEG data.

The CSI 300 has now risen a cumulative 24 per cent over five sessions since last Tuesday, before the stimulus measures were announced. The package, Beijing’s biggest since the coronavirus pandemic, includes a $100bn central bank war chest for investors and companies to buy shares, while the politburo said in a forceful statement that it would intensify spending.

In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index closed up 2.4 per cent, led higher by Chinese companies listed in the territory including Alibaba and Tencent. Its year-to-date performance — most of which has come in the past couple of weeks — now stands at 24 per cent, higher than the S&P 500 index’s 20 per cent gain.

The rally was in contrast to the downbeat performance of other big Asian markets on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 4.8 per cent in a chaotic session following news that the incoming prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, is to call a general election for October 27.

Traders said the falls reflected fragile investor confidence about Ishiba, who has previously expressed his support for bigger taxes on companies and investment income.

India’s BSE Sensex, which has been widely seen as a big beneficiary of nervy equity investors rotating out of China, was down 1.5 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi closed down 2.1 per cent.

The gains in the Chinese market also spurred commodity prices, with iron ore futures that expire in January 2025 and are traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange up by almost 11 per cent.

However, analysts cautioned that a long-lasting rally in China would not be sustained by monetary policy easing alone, and called for more details on fiscal stimulus.

“The market needs a ‘1-2-3 punch’ [with current monetary easing as the first action], followed up by big fiscal stimulus, and more importantly structural reform to sustain the rally rather than a short-term trade,” said Minyue Liu, investment specialist for Greater China and global emerging market equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

“This China stimulus is likely to stay within Chinese borders,” said Narain of UBS. “Upon completion of Golden Week maybe we’ll see more details on the stimulus measures — we’re looking for details on measures to support consumption for example . . . which are very scant.”

Additional reporting by Leo Lewis in Tokyo

A new generation of start-up advice firms is leading the post-private-equity-backed consolidation market with innovation and best practice, according to Platforum.

The consultancy said these start-up advice firms are “reshaping the market” once dominated by PE firms.

Private equity has played a big role in driving M&A activity in recent years with several firms acquired. And over half of advisers are now working at firms with more than 50 advisers.

The pace of PE consolidation has slowed in the past year due to higher interest rates and increased regulatory scrutiny.

However, Platforum said consolidation has also led to the rise of start-up advice firms, as many have been formed by breakaway advisers from acquired firms.

And there are others led by entrepreneurially minded advisers ready to branch off on their own.

A recent Platforum survey of 264 advisers found that over a quarter (26%) of advisers are working in firms that are less than 10 years old, half of those founded since 2020.

It said these newer firms tend to follow similar business models, particularly those that started during the pandemic.

They are more likely to use technology to boost efficiency and data analysis, have more academic qualifications with many attaining chartered status, outsource their investment propositions instead of managing them in-house and adopt evidence-based investment strategies.

The barriers to entry are minimal for financial advisers who start their own businesses, especially for those who have existing clients.

Starting costs are often low compared to other industries because of network turn-key solutions, manageable capital requirements, minimal start-up overheads, outsourcing options and favourable cash flow.

Platforum analyst Mariam Pourshoushtari said: “The recent wave of PE-backed consolidation has undeniably reshaped the UK advice market.

“However, less attention has been given to the new generation of dynamic, lean, tech-driven firms emerging in its wake. These businesses are also transforming the market, often leading in innovation and best practices.”

Starting firms from scratch can be a daunting enterprise for newly qualified advisers.

It often requires a few years to attract enough clients to become profitable and it takes time to gain the experience and soft skills required for long-term business sustainability, according to Platforum.

However, many commentators say that despite the increasing regulatory demands, newer firms are set up with these rules in mind from day one, helping them avoid the expensive restructuring that older firms often have to navigate.

AN EIGHT-year-old boy who was fatally shot in the head and face has been named by police.

Jay Cartmel died after sustaining serious head injuries after the horror unfolded on a hillside close to Wheatsheaf Farm, near Warcop, in Cumbria.

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Officers are continuing to investigate Jay’s death and have issued a plea for witnesses to come forward.

Police arrested a man in his 60s nearby on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter – who was later bailed.

Cumbria Constabulary said a firearm was secured by officers at the scene.

The Sun understands the pair were on the land rabbiting.

A source told us: “They had permission to be on the land. There’s been an agreement in place for years for them to rabbit there.”

One of the local tenants who uses the pasture said they believed that those involved could be members of the traveller community.

They said: “We just rent that land… There’s the gypsy fair on Brough Hill, so apparently it’s some of them. That’s the rumour going around.”

Another person added that they didn’t know the boy but believed he was from outside of the local area.

They added: “I actually don’t know him. I don’t think he’s from our area. I think it was someone from out of the area, from what I can gather.”

The famous Appleby Horse Fair, which attracts around 10,000 travellers each year, is based around six miles from the site of the tragedy.

Another farmer who works on the land also said the child’s family is “deeply upset”.

“It was a tragic accident,” he told The Sun.

“I feel so sorry for the family, our thoughts are with them. It’s deeply upsetting.”

It’s understood that a farm near to the field where the shooting took place does not have any livestock – and instead rents out its lands for sheep grazing.

However, an MoD firing range is adjacent to the land where the schoolboy was injured.

An MoD spokesperson confirmed it is not involved.

‘MOST AWFUL TRAGEDY’

Local Frank Chalmers, 73, said he saw five police cars and an air ambulance at the scene at around 3pm as he drove past to his home in nearby Brough.

He told The Sun: “I was just passing by in the car when I saw the police and an air ambulance.

“It is the most awful tragedy for the family and the community.”

Another witness said: “We saw two CSI people in white suits in the field, that was after 4pm.”

Someone else reported: “The CSI track seemed to be going uphill and bearing to the left through the hedge, with stick markers.”

A third shared: “Serious incident near Warcop at or before 3pm with crime scene investigators and the medical rescue helicopter and at least five police vehicles, one in the field.”

A Cumbria Police spokesperson said: “Police are investigating following the death of an eight-year-old boy.

“Emergency services were called at around 2.50pm yesterday (28 Sept) to a farm in the Warcop area following a report that a child had been seriously injured by a firearm at the property.

“Police and NWAS attended.

“The firearm was secured at the scene by police and an eight-year-old boy was taken to hospital by air ambulance having suffered serious and life-threatening injuries to his head and face.

“Sadly, the boy has died overnight.

“Officers arrested a man in his 60s at the scene on suspicion of assault GBH.

“He remains in police custody but is now under arrest on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.”

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CME Group has launched contracts that track the price of the raw material for lithium batteries, stepping up its rivalry with the London Metal Exchange for dominance of the global market for battery metals.

The US exchange on Monday said it planned to launch futures on spodumene, the rocks that are mined for the lithium chemicals used in electric vehicle batteries.

Its move marks a new front as the world’s largest commodities exchanges compete to be the main venue for producers and miners to trade battery metals as new technologies like electric vehicles spur long-term demand.

Until now the lithium futures contracts available — in London, Chicago, Guangzhou and Singapore — have been for processed forms of lithium such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, which are key ingredients in electric vehicle batteries and for industrial processing. Spodumene is lithium-rich rock dug from the ground, and Australia is the largest producer.

Most lithium processing takes place in China, and prices for downstream chemicals such as lithium hydroxide are often correlated to spodumene rock prices.

“We know for sure that battery metals will be one of the critical minerals of the future, and underlying demand will go up,” said Jin Hennig, global head of metals at CME Group.

The US group’s move underscores how exchanges are trying to attract more customers, by offering futures that hedge against more stages of the global lithium supply chain.

Prices for lithium chemicals have see-sawed over the past two years, first surging because of electric vehicle demand then crashing because of a glut of lithium production and a slowdown in EV growth.

The CME and the LME launched their first lithium hydroxide contracts only in 2021, with the Singapore Exchange offering their own futures the following year. However the CME has pulled ahead of the LME for contracts such as lithium hydroxide and cobalt.

Key beneficiaries of the new spodumene contract are likely to include producers in Australia, which is the world’s biggest miner of the lithium-containing ore.

The CME’s cash-settled spodumene futures contract will be launched on Oct 28 if approved by regulators, and is based on an assessment of spodumene delivered into China by Fastmarkets, a commodities data company.

Przemek Koralewski, head of market development at Fastmarkets, said the CME was edging ahead of the LME in terms of securing market share for its battery metals contracts.

Trading on the CME’s lithium hydroxide contract has surged more than 700 per cent, in volume terms, during the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period a year ago.

“The opportunity is huge, that’s why multiple exchanges are competing in this space,” said Koralewski, adding that as the lithium market grows its market structure could become more like oil, where the value of the derivatives traded are many times larger than the sales value of the physical product.

Industry analysts have drawn potential parallels between the lithium market and the iron ore market, which used to be largely traded on annual fixed price contracts until 2010. As China’s demand for iron ore surged, causing the annual contracts to break down, trading and hedging iron ore with futures has exploded.

At present lithium hydroxide is still primarily a physical market, with derivatives representing just 13 per cent of the physical market for lithium hydroxide, Koralewski noted.