May loses her voice and what was left of her authority
●Prankster hands over P45 ‘from Boris’ ●Coughing ruins ‘make or break’ speech ●‘British dream’ turns into nightmare
Theresa May’s keynote address to her annual party conference on the power of the “British dream” descended into a nightmare yesterday when she was overshadowed by a prankster, beset by a persistent cough and part of the stage fell apart.
Early on in her speech the Prime Minister was interrupted by comedian Simon Brodkin, who managed to breach security to hand her a P45. He told Mrs May: “Boris asked me to give you this.”
The Prime Minister struggled to finish her address. She repeatedly stopped to clear her throat and Chancellor Philip Hammond handed her a lozenge. Delegates gave her several lengthy standing ovations to allow her to recover.
By the end of the speech, her message was literally collapsing around her as letters spelling out the Conservative slogan of “Building a country that works for everyone” began dropping off the backdrop behind her.
Mr Brodkin, known by his stage name Lee Nelson, was arrested by Manchester Police for breach of the peace after being ushered from the hall to shouts of “out, out” from delegates. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed that an investigation had been launched.
The speech had been billed as a make or break bid to rescue her premiership. But with her future hanging in the balance last night, Mrs May’s aides and loyal MPS resisted calls for her to go.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson offered a vote of confidence, tweeting after the speech: “If ever the PM needed a metaphor for service and duty and resolution through adversity, that battling performance was it! Huge respect.”
But behind the scenes, MPS have started sounding out the possibility of an imminent leadership challenge.
Mrs May’s appeal to “renew the British dream” was largely lost in the chaotic delivery, but the Prime Minister unveiled two policy announcements designed to show the Conservatives are responding to concerns about generational and economic inequality.
Draft legislation to cap all standard variable energy tariffs will be published within the next two weeks. And the government will increase the budget for social housing in England by £2 billion, with Scotland expected to receive a windfall through the Barnett formula.
Billed as the Prime Minister’s bid to reassert her authority after weeks of division at the top of the government, Mrs May’s speech began on a note of humility, apologising for the dismal general election campaign that saw the Tories lose their majority.
“We did not get the victory we wanted because our national campaign fell short,” she said. “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.”
Building her speech around the idea of a British dream that ensures “each new generation in our country should be able to build a better future”, Mrs May said that for too many people that aspiration is out of reach.
Labour accused the Prime Minister of watering down its own plans on housing and particularly on the energy cap, which was part of Ed Miliband’s 2015 manifesto. Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet office minister said: “This was supposed to be the speech where Theresa May relaunched her flailing premiership but it only confirmed her failure.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the Prime Minister’s performance masked a damaging agenda for Scotland. “Theresa May’s speech – beset with problems and protests – proved the ‘British dream’ is a Tory nightmare,” Mr Blackford said.
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable offered sympathy but said Mrs May was “tinkering around the edges” of the UK’S problems.
Theresa May coughs her way through her difficult speech at the
It’s important to remember, while recovering from the onslaught of visual metaphors that tumbled out as the Conservative conference fell apart, that Theresa May wasn’t having a great week anyway.
Struggling under the weight of pressure to relaunch her premiership, the Prime Minister wore a pained expression as she walked out to deliver possibly the most important speech of her political life.
The stakes were so high that the cruelty was immediately obvious as the A4 sheet marked P45 inched closer and closer to the Prime Minister’s face.
You willed her to make a joke, to grab it and rip it up – do anything but meekly accept it, as if she had half expected to be sacked in front
“This was supposed to be the speech where Theresa May relaunched her flailing premiership but it only confirmed her failure”
JON TRICKETT The crowd were left exhausted by the drama of it all
of the nation. “I’d like to talk about someone I’d like to give a P45 to – and that’s Jeremy Corbyn,” she did eventually manage to say, prompting a raucous standing ovation. Little did the audience know of the labour that awaited them.
May isn’t known as a fluent media performer, so aides might look back on the 29 interviews and dozens of receptions over the previous four days and wonder if they were worth it.
Coughing her way through the applause from the beginning of her speech, after the interruption May went completely hoarse. The Tories would give a “voice to the voiceless,” she croaked.
Those watching dumbfounded in the hall were exhausted by the drama of it all after rising to cheer as cover for the coughing fits. The support was offered out of embarrassment as well as sympathy. As reporters thumbed through their copy of the speech, one Tory delegate leaned over and asked, “is there much more of this?” Reader, there was.
Then things really began falling apart. Within sight of the end, the first letter of the word “for” in the slogan “Building a country that works for everyone” became unglued and fell to the floor.
It was clearly time for May to get the F out of there. Philip May enveloped his wife in a hug and, to her immense credit, she laughed.
The crowd emerged from the Manchester Central Hall, dazed and disbelieving that this was in fact the highlight of their conference, and not an episode of You’ve Been Framed. A senior party figure was seen with their head in their hands, but aides were stoic when faced by the media. But all the Comical Ali-style briefing that the speech proved Mrs May’s bravery is irrelevant.
After a torrid election and terrible, flat conference, the Prime Minister had one job: leadership, which in this context meant picking her team up off the floor and getting them to feel good about themselves again.
Instead, they had to pick her up. When they recover, the Tory faithful will remember how uplifted they were by the excellent warm-up act from new MPS including Scots Paul Masterton and Kirstene Hair, by Ruth Davidson, and even Boris Johnson.
And while they will be sympathetic, they will wish things could be different. That’s the dream that was really on offer today.