May underlines intent to stay Prime Minister despite new speculation
May’s bid to save premiership
THERESA MAY will argue she is the leader Britain needs to take “bold” decisions as she underlines her intention to remain Prime Minister despite the Conservatives’ crushing election setback.
The Prime Minister will insist her commitment to the job is “undimmed” as she marks the first anniversary of taking office weeks after the spectacular failure of her snap election gamble, which has left her Government without a Commons majority.
In a speech on Tuesday apparently designed to try to calm speculation about her own future and the possibility of another general election this year, Mrs May will present herself as the leader Britain needs as it faces “great national change”.
The weekend saw fresh speculation that Mrs May’s tenure in Downing Street may not extend beyond the summer as it was reported former chief whip Alistair Mitchell had told MPs at a dinner that she had lost all authority.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said last week Mrs May intended to serve a full term in the role and at the G20 summit at the weekend she set out her intention to work with other world leaders over the long term.
Mrs May has faced criticism over her apparent reluctance to acknowledge the election result but tomorrow she will say that the “reality” compared to a year
ago is “rather different” and acknowledge the outcome of last month’s poll was “not what I wanted”.
She will say: “At this critical time in our history, we can either be timid or we can be bold.
“I think this country needs a government that is prepared to take the bold action necessary to secure a better future for Britain and we are determined to be that government.”
Mrs May will deliver the speech at the launch of a new report by former Tony Blair adviser Matthew Taylor on changes to the world of work which will make recommendations on how the Government should respond to the so-called ‘gig economy’.
She will try to reboot the fairness agenda she set out on the steps of Downing Street ast July.
Mrs May will say: “I am convinced that the path that I set out in that first speech outside Number 10 and upon which we have set ourselves as a government remains the right one.
“It will lead to the stronger, fairer Britain that we need. It will deliver the change people want. It will ensure we make the most of this opportunity to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to be and to answer that question with confidence, optimism and hope.”
Despite her deal for support from the Democratic Unionist Party, Mrs May’s Government remains highly vulnerable to Commons defeats. The Prime Minister will challenge other parties to “contribute, not just criticise”.
“We may not agree on everything, but through debate and discussion – the hallmarks of our Parliamentary democracy – ideas can be clarified and improved and a better way forward found,” the Prime Minister will say.
IT’S IRONIC that Theresa May is now calling for cross-party consensus on the great issues facing the country when she is the Prime Minister who risked all with an unnecessary General Election – and then spent six weeks rubbishing her opponents.
She’s only doing so, on the eve of her premiership’s first anniversary, because she’s totally at the mercy of others if she wants to lead a ‘bold’ government that is committed to making Brexit for all while tackling injustice across society.
Yet, while there are farreaching issues like Brexit, social care and publicsector pay that demand co-operation between the major parties if any tangible progress is to be made, Mrs May needs to show her willingness to work with, and accommodate, others.
Are rivals really going to risk their reputations after she lost the confidence of the country on June 8? And, more to the point, will the Tory party still support a Prime Minister when some of those close to David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, believe that she is “dead in the water” and has “lost her authority”?
Mrs May had a golden opportunity to be more collaborative and work across the political divide when she became PM. It’s what the country actually wanted last summer. If she had done so rather than relying upon the flawed judgement of those discredited policy aides who thought they were running the country, she might not have felt the need to call an election. If the Tory leader is serious about working with others, tomorrow’s policy speech will include a cross-party commission to handle Brexit. After all, the country’s future is, frankly, more important than a Prime Minister’s survival.