Inspired by late Queen’s ethos
Theresa May: MP and PM roles about service, not power
Theresa May has said she believes the Conservatives will return to power at the next General Election – despite the party lagging behind in the polls.
The departing Maidenhead MP is the 60th Conservative Member of Parliament to drop out of the next General Election after she confirmed her ‘difficult decision’ on Friday last week.
National opinion polls last week indicated a Labour Party lead over the Conservatives, now in its 13th year as the ruling party in Government, by more than 20 points.
When questioned about the number of MPs standing down, Mrs May said: “In the lead-up to every General Election, there are MPs who decide to stand down.
“There will be MPs who have been in the Commons for a long time and decide the time is right for them to step back.
“There will be MPs who perhaps come in here more recently and find perhaps it’s just not the life for them.
“The number is always significant and because we had such a large number elected in 2019, it’s not surprising perhaps that there’s that number standing down.”
When asked whether she is confident Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will lead the Conservative Party to a victory at the next General Election, she responded with a definitive and resounding, ‘yes’.
“I believe that the Conservatives can win the next General Election and I genuinely believe that. I believe it for a number of reasons,” she added.
“If you look at the Labour Party, Keir Starmer is not Tony Blair. I was elected in 1997, Tony Blair had captured the imagination of a lot of people, Keir Starmer doesn’t.
“They’ve got a big task. If you look at the number of seats they’ve got to take in order to get that majority, it’s a very big ask for a political party to be able to do that.
“Finally and this is slightly against myself, but they may be really ahead in the polls but in 2017 I was really ahead in the polls and then I didn’t get the majority.”
Reflecting on her own time as the UK’s second female Prime Minister and one of its longest-serving Home Secretaries, she said it was ‘important’ to be remembered as ‘somebody who was there to serve’.
She said: “We’ve touched on some of the issues I’ve dealt with that I hope people will feel I was able to contribute to – modern slavery, climate change, domestic abuse, mental health.
“It was important for people to feel Government had a greater degree of control over migration policy that had happened under the Labour Party.
“I think it was absolutely right to try to take action in terms of illegal migration. I’ve already said that I think the go-home vans were a mistake and we should not have done that.
“Brexit obviously was a key thing and I’m disappointed I didn’t get my deal through but there were some other challenging moments.
“Last night (Monday) I was down in Salisbury recognising the 6th anniversary of the Salisbury poisoning, the attempt by Russia to kill Sergei Skripal through the use of a chemical weapon Novichok nerve agent and of course subsequently one British citizen did die, Dawn Sturgess.
“There were incidents like that, the terrorist incidents of London Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Finsbury Mosque for example, sending British planes alongside American and French planes to bomb chemical weapons factories in Syria when there was a possibility that some of those pilots would not come back. They did thankfully but that’s a big decision for a Prime Minister to take.”
Referencing her final speech as Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street when her ‘voice caught a bit’ at the end, she recalled her aides reassuring her that the emotion showed she ‘cared’ whilst she felt annoyance.
“I think generally speaking there is a slightly different approach to women in office,” she said.
“Of course, the general impression is that if a woman shows emotion, it’s a weak woman. If a man shows emotion, it’s wonderful that he’s showing his other side.
“The thing that I enjoyed most was the opportunity it gives you to meet a whole range of people who’ve done amazing things. The first reception I did as Prime Minister in Number 10 was with Tim Peake who had just come back from space.
“The person who I found was most impressive during my time as Prime Minister was the late Queen. She had huge experience, a huge understanding and that absolute commitment to her sense of duty.
“I hope that people will think that I was somebody who was there to serve. I think that’s important.
“Overall, I would hope that people would feel that I saw being Prime Minister and being a Member of Parliament as a position of service, not a position of power.”