Lose your gong if you dishonour it, says PM
THERESA MAY today reveals plans to strip people of their knighthoods if they fall below the “standards of integrity” expected by the public.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Prime Minister suggests that Britons may be losing confidence in the honours system after a series of scandals.
If re-elected, she will instruct the Cabinet Office to conduct a review that will also aim to ensure that local heroes gain the recognition they deserve.
Her announcement follows criticism of public figures including Sir Philip Green and Fred Goodwin.
Mrs May said: “What we’ve seen, sadly, is a limited number of instances where the public would feel that someone has been given an honour and then perhaps not met the standards of integrity that they would expect.
“I think we just need to look at what should be done.”
A motion calling for Sir Philip, who faced criticism over the BHS pensions scandal, to lose his honour was passed by MPs in October – yet he still has it seven months on. Mr Goodwin, the for- mer Royal Bank of Scotland head, was heavily criticised for his role in the 2008 financial crash but only lost his knighthood in 2012.
Currently, decisions about removing honours are taken behind closed doors through a series of committees in the Cabinet Office. Mrs May’s comments suggest she wants more transparency.
It is part of a wider shake-up of the honours system designed to put more emphasis on worthy local people as opposed to the “cult of sportsmen and celebrity” which is perceived to dominate the twice-yearly honours list.
“We see sportsmen and celebrities who make great contributions to our national life and to the standing of the United Kingdom,” Mrs May said.
“We also see people who work really hard in their local community, perhaps on a voluntary basis, making a real difference to people’s lives. We want to make sure that contributions are properly recognised.”
The review, which has no timescale, will be seen as a sideswipe at David Cameron who was accused of “cronyism” for honouring aides and donors. Mrs May declined to criticise her predecessor, saying: “The issue of public confidence in the honours system is something that’s been there for some time.” Mrs May’s review also forms part of a wider drive by her party to help voters who feel they are losing out from globalisation, monopolies and regulation.
Last week, when the Tory manifesto was revealed, commentators scrambled to declare it a new doctrine – "Mayism" – made in the image of the Prime Minister. Gone was the supposed previous commitment to “untrammelled free markets” and “selfish individualism”, replaced by a more assertive state.
Most political leaders would be flattered to have an “ism” named after them, a title that suggests a coherent ideology and clear vision.
Yet no sooner had the idea been floated than its creator stepped in to end the excitement. “There is no Mayism,” the Prime Minister said. “There is good, solid Conservatism.”
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph in her first full interview since the manifesto launch, Mrs May explained her disapproval of the phrase as she campaigned in Scotland. “I’ve always been a Conservative, and what we are doing is in the mainstream of political thinking in this country,” she says from the back of the Tory battle bus.
“Now, I do approach things in a different way – in the sense that my thinking on every job I do is just get in there, do the best I can and get on with it.”
Maggie and May
The explanation may not be enough for some, who see Mrs May as ripping up Margaret Thatcher’s rule book of rolling back the state and freeing up the private sector.
Critics see Mrs May’s proposals for an energy price cap and published pay ratios for big firms as a clear break from the Iron Lady’s economics.
Yet asked whether she is abandoning Thatcherism, Mrs May is categorical: “No, I’m not. I was asked that on Thursday, and I said: ‘Margaret Thatcher was a Conservative, I’m a Conservative, this is a Conservative manifesto’.
“And that’s the important thing. It’s a manifesto which is based on Conservative values and principles. We are the party that believes in low taxation, recognises the importance of the strength of the economy – and that does mean ensuring business is supported. But we also recognise that what we want to see is responsible business.”
Discussing what she admired of Mrs Thatcher during the Eighties, Mrs May – who had left university and was increasingly politically engaged at the time – picks out her patriotism.
“She was somebody who was doing what was right in the national interest. That was the crucial thing, she was turning this country around,” the Prime Minister says.
Mrs May repeatedly describes her approach as responding to challenges in a “practical and pragmatic way” rather than being dictated by doctrine. “I think sometimes ideology can get in the way of delivering for people in the best way possible.”
Schools revolution
Turning to policies in the manifesto, Mrs May plays down a threat to private schools of being stripped of their tax status without doing more to support the state sector.
“Yes, we’ve put that option into the manifesto, but actually I am confident that we will see the independent sector responding,” she says. “This was one of the proposals we had in our Green Paper on greater diversity in schools and the independent sector is already starting to respond positively to that. So I’m sure we’re going to be able to work with them.”
Lifting the ban on new grammar schools – one of Mrs May’s first policy announcements – is also mentioned as she outlines her plans for state education.
Yet numbers are less forthcoming. The Prime Minister twice declines to say how many new grammars she wants by 2022, preferring to support a grass-roots approach. “I’m not going to put a figure on it because
what I want to see is what is going to work in any particular area. This is partly every local community feeling whatw is right [for them],” she says.
TacklingT extremism
One reference in the Tory manifesto somewhat overlooked so far is a promise to launch an “integration strategy” and create a “commission for countering extremism” to boost social cohesion.
It is a topic close to Mrs May’s heart, dating back to her six years at the Home Office that saw the launch of a counter-extremism strategy for the UK as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) emerged abroad.
Teaching more people to speak English is key, the Prime Minister says. Mrs May wants to make sure there are “no artificial barriers being put up to people being able fully to feel that they are part of their local community”.
She continues: “Obviously the ability to speak English is an important part of that, because if you don’t speak English well, you will be less likely to be able to participate in general things that other people do, like speaking to your GP and speaking to your children’s teachers.”
Boosting the number of language courses on offer, encouraging imams to preach in English and focusing especially on women, to improve their chances of getting work, are all picked out.
‘Mrs Thatcher was doing what was right, in the national interest, turning the country around'
Donald Trump
On the morning of our interview, news breaks that Donald Trump, the US President, has launched a second air strike on pro-Assad forces in as many months.
Mrs May declines to say whether she was warned – “I won’t go into details on all of these matters” – and falls short of explicitly backing the military action.
She defends the role Britain plays in the region through the anti-Isil
‘Sometimes ideology can get in the way of delivering for people in the best way possible’
coalition and stresses that only a “political solution” can end the Syrian civil war.
But what does the Prime Minister think of calls to impeach Mr Trump? “Look, it’s not for me to comment on what is happening in Congress or what is happening in terms of internal American politics,” she says, with a straight bat.
She is more forthcoming on the famous hand-holding picture with the US President, taken outside the White House during a speedy visit after his inauguration. To critics, it embodied an ungainly rush to align herself with Mr Trump. Any regret over the photo?
She laughs. “We were about to walk down a ramp and he said ‘take my arm’. And then as we went down the ramp he took my hand. So there we are, that’s what happened.
“But do I regret actually going shortly after the inauguration to see the new president of the country with which we have the deepest security and defence partnership? No, I think that partnership is very important for our security but also for the security of others.”
Life at No 10
To the outside observer, Mrs May seems to have adapted to life in the prime minister’s chair with ease, taking over from David Cameron last July after the upheaval of the Brexit vote.
The gym on Saturday and church on Sunday remain “untouchable” routines in Mrs May’s weekly diary, according to those around her.
Yet asked whether some pastimes have had to go after moving into No 10, the Prime Minister appears to play down the difference from her Home Office days.
“Well, obviously it’s a full-on job in terms of the amount of time it takes. It is a job like no other,” she says. “But I take the same view about everything I do, which is whatever I’m doing, whatever the circumstances, I just get on with it and get on and do the best I can.”
Mrs May, daughter of a vicar, also describes how faith has helped her through the 10 months since she took the job.
“Yes, I do pray, but I don’t go into details about how often and so forth. I’m a regular practising member of the Church of England,” she says.
Asked whether religion ever plays a part in her political decision-making, Mrs May responds: “I think if you are a person of faith, then faith underpins how you approach life.”