May to go on EU warpath in bid to see off Labour
THERESA May will today declare Jeremy Corbyn is too weak to negotiate Brexit as she seeks to put the UK’s exit from the EU ‘truly at the heart of this election campaign’.
In a direct appeal to voters, the Prime Minister will argue she is the only leader who can take on ‘aggressive’ Eurocrats in Brussels, with formal talks to start just 11 days after polling day.
The rallying call in which she will brand herself ‘the Prime Minister 100 per cent committed’ to Brexit is hoped to focus voters’ minds on the stark choice they face to halt a drop in the Tory poll lead.
During a visit to the West Midlands, Mrs May will put immigration at the core of her speech, with a pledge to stand up for voters who have lost jobs or seen their wages fall because of high numbers of arrivals.
She will promise that concerns about immigration will no longer be ‘dismissed as parochial’, and people with a desire for their ‘country to make the decisions that matter to Britain here’ will not face ‘ridicule’.
In an attempt to win support of voters from all parties who backed Brexit, Mrs May will celebrate the European referendum as ‘a quiet revolution by all those who felt let down and left behind for too long’.
The latest negotiating documents which have been released by the European Commission show how their estimated 100billion euro divorce bill includes paying the salaries of teachers at schools attended by the children of Eurocrats for two years after Brexit.
Mrs May is expected to say: ‘The European Commission... is adopting an aggressive negotiating position, which can only be met by strong leadership on behalf of Britain.
‘Jeremy Corbyn is in no position to provide that kind of leadership.
‘He has no plan to deliver Brexit, and he has already admitted he would give control of our borders and control of our laws back to Brussels.’
She will say with Britain’s future prospects and prosperity depending on ‘getting Brexit right’ there could be only one choice when it came to deciding who should lead the country into the negotiations.
‘I am clear about the instruction I have been given, clear about what needs to be done, and ready to get on with the job on day one – while Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have the belief, the will or the plan to deliver Brexit.’
Mrs May will say the Brexit vote was ‘a revolution in which millions of our fellow citizens stood up and said they were not prepared to be ignored any more’.
‘Since the first day I stepped through the door of No10 as Prime Minister, I have been clear that the mission of the government I lead is not just to get the best possible deal for Britain in Europe, but to take this opportunity to shift the balance of Britain in favour of ordinary working people.’
Tackled during the live TV showdown over the decision to change her mind on the cap on care fees in England, Mrs May added: ‘I saw a lot of scaremongering and recognised there would be a lot of worry, and clarified that there would be a cap.’
She said that the overall changes, which will see millions of better-off pensioners lose their annual Winter Fuel Allowance, worth up to £300, would be ‘fairer to younger generations’.
She was challenged over the fact Scottish pensioners will keep their Winter Fuel Allowance, but said this was a product of devolution.
During a tough interview with Jeremy Paxman, Mrs May was mocked for being a ‘blowhard who collapses at the first sign of gunfire’.
The Prime Minister brushed off the criticism and said she had already shown she could be tough in talks with Brussels.