We’re a decent, moderate and patriotic party, declares May

Prime Minister to issue rallying cry and echo warning that more must be done to attract minorities

THE Conservative Party must be “comfortable with modern Britain in all of its diversity” if it is to win the next election, Theresa May will say today.

The Prime Minister will say her party must demonstrate it is “decent, moderate and patriotic” and will “deliver on the issues people care about”. In her conference speech, entitled

Our Future is In Our Hands, she will say that millions of people who have never voted Tory are “appalled” by Labour and the Conservatives have a “moment of opportunity”.

She will say: “They want to support a party that is decent, moderate and patriotic. One that puts the national interest first. Delivers on the issues they care about. And is comfortable with modern Britain in all its diversity.

“We must show everyone in this country that we are that party.

“A party that conserves the best of our inheritance, but is not afraid of change. A party of patriotism, but not nationalism. A party that believes in business, but is not afraid to hold businesses to account.”

It comes after Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the Conservative Party, said that the Tories will face an “uncomfortable” future unless they attract more black, Asian and ethnic minority supporters.

His message was echoed yesterday by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, who said the Tories have “a mountain to climb”.

Mrs May will say that the Conservatives must be the party that “believes in the good that government can do but knows that government will never have all the answers.

“A party that believes your success in life should not be defined by who you love, your faith, the colour of your skin, who your parents were, or where you were raised – but by your talent and hard work”. She will go on: “Above all, a party of Unionism, not just of four proud nations, but of all our people. A party not for the few, not even for the many, but for everyone who is willing to work hard and do their best.”

She will say: “Our best days lie ahead of us and our future is full of promise. Don’t let anyone tell you we don’t have what it takes: we have everything we need to succeed.”

Mr Lewis acknowledged in his speech to the conference earlier this week that the Tories need to do more to reach out to ethnic minorities.

He said: “Because we can’t just talk about opportunity for all. We must act on it. It’s the right thing to do, but it also matters because if we don’t, we face an uncertain and – let’s be frank – an uncomfortable future.”

Mrs May will be hoping to avoid a repeat of her disastrous conference speech last year, during which she was interrupted by a prankster, she lost her voice and the set fell apart.

Yesterday, she told BBC News: “What I feel most strongly about is putting the national interest first... working to ensure that we get the best possible deal from the European Union in terms of our relationship with them in the future when we leave and that’s what I am focused on... alongside all the things we’re doing to deal with the dayto-day issues that matter to people like housing, the NHS, the quality of education in our schools.”

She also added: “This is about the jobs of people in our country. It’s about protecting those jobs for the future.”