Chastened May vows to clean up mess she created
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May has issued a grovelling apology for her catastrophic election campaign, admitting to a meeting of Tory MPs: “I’m the person who got us into this mess.”
The mea culpa was made to a packed room of Conservative MPs, with the PM acknowledging a string of mistakes and being accused of running a “Laurel and Hardy government”.
The consequences of Ms May’s election gamble have been further underlined as her administration’s ability to pass a Queen’s Speech – the most basic test of a government’s credibility – is cast into doubt.
The most senior minister in her cabinet admitted the monarch’s ceremonial speech outlining the government’s legislative agenda could be delayed if Ms May failed to convince Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to back her.
It also emerged Brexit talks might be set back as a result of the chaos in British politics, decreasing chances of a withdrawal deal by 2019.
The crunch meeting of the 1922 Committee – representing the voice of Tory backbenchers – lasted longer than usual, for more than an hour while Ms May was interrogated by MPs.
Addressing MPs, she said: “I’m the person who got us into this mess – and I’m the one who’s going to get us out of it.”
People there said she uttered the word “sorry” repeatedly. As the meeting dragged on, she was asked if she had time to continue, replying: “No, no, I’ve got time – I said I’d changed.”
One MP told The Independent: “She said she had been stuffing envelopes for the party since she was 12 years old and that she would continue to serve as long as we wanted her to.”
She went on to pledge more involvement in decision-making for her backbenchers.
Ann-Marie Trevelyan, a Conservative MP in the North East, said the Prime Minister had given a full “mea culpa”, adding: “She said, ‘It’s my fault, I take full responsibility.’ She had clearly considered deeply, over the weekend, whether she should continue and now felt absolutely that she should.
“She came to us to say that she would continue as long as we wanted her to – which is exactly what we wanted her to say. The room really warmed up after that.”
Another MP said the apology had been “cathartic” for MPs, confirming they wanted Ms May to stay: “If the mood had flickered immediately after the election, then it is behind her again now.”
Ms May also signalled she could be willing to soften her approach on Brexit as she pledged to listen to “all the voices” in the party on the issue, following calls to adopt a more “jobs first” approach from members of her cabinet and the backbench.
MPs also said the PM had given the necessary reassurance on the consequences of a tie-up with the DUP, promising it would not threaten her party’s stance on gay rights or the Northern Ireland peace process.