My story and dream for Britain

THERESA May invoked her grandmother’s work as a domestic servant yesterday as she vowed to ‘renew the British dream’ that every generation does better than the last.

In a highly personal speech, the Prime Minister spoke of how her grandmother had ‘worked hard and made sacrifices, because she believed in a better future for her family,’

She also spoke of her sadness at not being able to have children – while insisting this did not stop her sharing hopes of any parent or grandparent.

And Mrs May made a very direct apology to Tory activists for the snap election which saw the party surrender its Commons majority, saying the campaign she led ‘fell short’.

But the speech, which was overshadowed by a string of calamities and a prolonged coughing fit, tried to draw a line under the election setback and show that the Tories were listening to voters again.

In an unusually personal passage, the PM spoke of her ‘great sadness’ that she and husband Philip ‘were never blessed with children’, adding: ‘It seems that some things in life are just never meant to be’.

But she said this did not stop her believing in ‘the dream that life should be better for the next generation as much as any mother. Any father. Any grandparent.’

She added: ‘The only difference is that I have the privileged position of being able to do more than most to bring that dream to life. So I will dedicate my premiership to fixing this problem – to restoring hope. To renewing the British Dream for a new generation of people. And that means fixing our broken housing market.’

She defined the British dream as the ambition that ‘each generation should do better than the one before it. Each era should be better than the last.’

Mrs May also revealed her grandmother had worked as a domestic servant who ‘worked as a lady’s maid below stairs’.

‘She worked hard and made sacrifices, because she believed in a better future for her family,’ she said.

‘And that servant – that lady’s maid – among her grandchildren boasts three professors and a prime minister. That is why the British Dream inspires me.’

Mrs May said she was driven by a sense of duty and a determination to ‘root out injustice and give everyone in our country a voice.’

The Prime Minister began with an apology to activists for the snap election, saying: ‘It was too scripted. Too presidential. And it allowed the Labour Party to paint us as the voice of continuity, when the public wanted to hear a message of change.

‘I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign. And I am sorry.’

She also unveiled a string of policy announcements designed to show she is listening to voters, including:

A vow to fix Britain’s ‘broken’ housing market, starting with an extra £2billion to build new homes, including a ‘new generation of council houses’.

New legislation to impose a cap on rip-off energy bills. Details will be confirmed next week, but it is set to save 12 million families £100 a year each.

Consultation on an ‘opt-out’ scheme for organ donation designed to boost the number of organs available.

And a pledge to tackle the ‘absurd’ foreign aid rules that prevented the UK using the £13billion aid budget to help the victims of hurricane Irma.

Mrs May said it was ‘profoundly in all our interests’ for Brexit negotiations to succeed.

But ministers were preparing for ‘every eventuality’, including the possibility that the UK may leave the EU next year without a deal.

The PM also savaged Labour over its plan to turn Britain into a socialist state, saying that the free market economy was ‘the basis of our prosperity and security’.

She attacked Jeremy Corbyn for failing to crack down on the antiSemitism and bullying on display at last week’s Labour conference.

And she appealed for cabinet unity following a tense week in which senior figures have attacked Boris Johnson for speaking out over Brexit, saying it was time for the Government to ‘shape up’ and take on Labour. Mrs May made housing the centre piece of her speech.

Senior Tories believe they have to kick start a housing revolution to have any hope of winning over the under40s at the next election.

She said the UK had not built enough houses for decades, leaving the average home costing eight times average earnings.

The result was that ‘for too many, the British dream feels increasingly out of reach’.

The announcement will lead to the construction of 25,000 homes over the next four years.

But aides said it was just the start of her plans for tackling the housing crisis. Ministers are also considering a fresh assault on the planning system, plus the release of swathes of stateowned land.

Some are even arguing for on the Green Belt protections to be lifted in order to get more homes built where people want them.

‘Give everyone in our country a voice’