May bows out with a trimmed-down legacy
Outgoing PM sends letter of her achievements to Tory MPS which is more notable for its omissions
THERESA MAY has sent a letter to Conservative MPS listing her achievements since announcing her resignation eight weeks ago, as she yesterday attempted to salvage a legacy from her troubled premiership.
In her last full day as Prime Minister, Mrs May set out a series of new policies and spending commitments, which she said demonstrated her Government’s “proud record of domestic achievement”.
The announcements include a new target to reduce the UK’S carbon footprint to zero by 2050, as well as appointing an envoy to aid the Government’s efforts to combat modern slavery.
Mrs May has also created a new quango, named the Office for Tackling Injustices, which will seek to help the “just about managing” families whose lives she promised to improve when she entered Downing Street three years ago.
However, the letter was more notable for its glaring omissions, including plans for a multi billion-pound cash injection for schools.
The Prime Minister had hoped to make a three-year education package worth £27billion a central plank of her legacy, but is understood to have encountered fierce resistance from Philip Hammond.
The Chancellor is said to have threatened to resign over the issue, which he warned would threaten the Conservative Party’s record on fiscal discipline and reducing the deficit.
His concerns were shared by allies of Boris Johnson, who accused Mrs May of attempting to tie her successor’s hands by spending money the two Tory leadership contenders had already earmarked for their own projects.
In response, Mrs May began drawing up watered down plans for a oneoff £3billion boost for schools, only to be again shut down by Mr Hammond.
And, in a final blow for her departure planning, a £2billion package of public sector pay rises for police officers, soldiers and teachers was leaked to reporters last week.
While the deals promise above-inflation pay rises for nearly one million workers, there will be no new money for teachers, meaning the extra pay will have to come from existing Department for Education budgets. Attempting to piece together her legacy, Mrs May told MPS: “Since I announced my intention to resign eight weeks ago, it has not been possible to make further progress on Brexit, but we have been afforded the chance to make further progress on building a country that works for everyone.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those ministers and colleagues who contributed so much to making these announcements a reality, continuing our proud record of domestic achievement as Conservatives in Government since 2010.”
Mrs May also used her last meeting of the Cabinet to remind ministers of her Government’s record, highlighting the additional funding secured for the NHS as evidence they could be “proud of their record”.
In response, David Lidington, her de facto deputy, thanked Mrs May on behalf of the Cabinet for her “great dedication to public service and her commitment to the Union”.