May talks teamwork as she lauds women who won the vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she wants to work with a team, which may make her different from the men who preceded her, as she marked the centenary of women winning the vote in Britain.

May, Britain’s second female prime minister, would also use the anniversary to press for an end to online abuse that was “coarsening” political debate.

In a speech in Manchester, the birthplace and home of British suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, May was to announce government measures intended to make sure social media firms are stamping out offensive content.

But before the speech, May turned to how she finds her role as prime minister and the growing criticism from inside and outside her Conservatives that she is not up to the job.

“My approach is much, I would say, about trying to work with the team … I think it’s about ensuring you have different opinions being heard around the table but bringing those opinions together in a way that achieves an outcome that is good,” she told BBC radio.

Asked what she would say to her critics, some of whom have called for her to step down, she said: “I put a much greater focus on not what you say but on what you do, and I guess that is another difference perhaps between women sometimes and men.”

May enjoyed a honeymoon in the opinion polls when she took power after Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016. But since losing her Conservatives’ majority in parliament in an illjudged election in June, her leadership has been questioned.

Critics say her cautious approach has increasingly left her hostage to the deep divisions among her ministers, especially over Brexit, with some concerned the EU has now gained the upper hand in talks.

On Monday, the EU said it was time for Britain to make a choice on their future ties.

But May was also set to use the centenary of the women’s vote to return to a favoured refrain and renew her call for a fight against online abuse, which she says often targets women law makers more than men. Her measures will sit alongside a commitment from the minister for women and equalities, Amber Rudd, to offer £2.5m for schemes to increase women’s participation in political and public life.

“As we remember the heroic campaigners of the past, who fought to include the voices of all citizens in our public debate, we should consider what values and principles guide our conduct of that debate today,” she was expected to say.

‘I THINK IT’S ABOUT ENSURING YOU HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS BEING HEARD AROUND THE TABLE…’