Conservative Leadership - Theresa May Briefings

The next Prime Minister will have three major tasks, to take us out of

the EU, unite our party and provide strong leadership in a dangerous

world. The referendum was bruising for many in our country and there is

a lot of healing to be done but the referendum was not a consultation

with our people, it was an instruction from our people. As one

of the leaders of the Leave campaign I could not support a candidate

unless I thought they had an unequivocal commitment to carrying

out the instruction of the British people to leave the EU in this

Parliament. It is the most urgent task for our new Prime Minister but

not the only task for an incoming Prime Minister. We must still deal

with our deficit, we must still the deficits in corporate culture, we

must deal with the international threat we face including the threat

of global terrorism, and the Conservative Party cannot become a

one trick pony. We still have to talk about the issues that affect

the lives of people in our country, from economy to health to education

to defence, and this is not a big issue campaign conducted in

opposition for the winner has the luxury of four years to prepare

stock the winner of this contest will be in number ten in eight

weeks. The successful candidate will have to write instructions for our

nuclear power deterrent, deal with Isis and set our policy in an

insecure world. We need somebody with the experience to do that on

day one but also someone with an opt domestic view of what this country

and achieve because we are not a country that is isolated. We will be

outside the EU but still have a seat on the Security Council of the year

when, it will still be in the G7 and the G20, the world's fifth biggest

economy at the heart of the Nato with a special relationship with the

US, this country requires great leadership and that is quite it is

my pleasure to welcome my friend and colleague to be the next Prime

Minister of this great country, Theresa May.

Thank you Liam. Two weeks ago I lost my candidacy to become leader of the

Conservative Party and the UK, and last week won the overwhelming

support of colleagues in the House of Commons, nearly two thirds of the

Conservative Party, left and right, levers and remainders from across

Britain. The result showed that after the referendum the

Conservative Party can come together and under my leadership it will. I'm

here today in Birmingham to launch my national campaign in which I will

make my case to the Conservative Party membership and the country as

a whole. That case comes down to three things. First, our country

needs strong proven leadership to steer us through this time of

economic and political uncertainty and to negotiate the best deal for

Britain as we forge a new role for ourselves and the world, because

Brexit means Brexit and weird going to make a success of it. Second, we

need to unite our party and our country and third, we need a bold

new vision for the future of our country, a vision of a country that

works not for the privileged few but for every one of us. It is about

that version that I want to talk to you, because if we are going to

govern in the interests of the whole country, we cannot become defined

exclusively by the process of withdrawal from the EU. That is an

important job and we will get it done, but we also need a government

that will deliver serious social reform and make cars a country that

truly works for everyone, because right now if you are born poor, you

will die on average nine years earlier than others, if you are

black you are treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than

if you are white. If you're a white working-class boy you are less

likely than anyone else to do to university. If you are at a state

school you are less likely to reach the top fashions that if you were

educated privately. If you are a woman you are still ageless than a

man. If you were young you will find it harder than ever before to own

your own home. Fighting these injustices is not enough. If you

were from an ordinary working-class family life is much harder than

people in politics realise. You don't always have job security. You

have your own home but worry about mortgage rates. You can just about

manage that you worry about the quality of living and a local school

because there is no other choice for you. Under my leadership the

Conservative Party will put itself absolutely at the service of

ordinary working people. It is quite we will make Britain a country that

works for everyone. An economy that works for everyone, so we do not

just maintain economic confidence and steer the country through

challenging times that make sure everyone can share in wealth. A

society that works for everyone, so we bring people back to gather, rich

and poor, old and young, those with skills and those without. A

democracy that works for everyone so we can restore trust and confidence

in our most important institutions and the political process itself,

and a party that works for everyone, because we cannot build a country

that works for all unless we the Conservatives are truly a party that

works for all. In the coming weeks I will sit at my plans to take our

economy through this period of uncertainty, to get the economy

growing strongly across all parts of the country, to deal with Britain's

productivity problem, to create more well-paid jobs, to negotiate the

best terms for departure from the EU and to forge a new rule for

ourselves in the world. Today I want to talk about my plans to re-form

the economy because it is apparent to anybody who was in touch with the

real world that people do not feel Ari, me works that way at all.

And the frustration they feel about the loss of control over their

day-to-day lives is obvious. They made real sacrifices after the

financial crash in 2008. Some lost their jobs, others reduced their

hours, others took a wage cut. Wages have grown, but only slowly. Taxes

for the lowest paid went down. But other taxes, like VAT went up. Fixed

spending prices like Energy Bills have rocketed. Super low interest

rates and quantitative easing has helped those on the property ladder

at the expense of those who cannot afford to own their own home. There

is not much job security out there. Some find themselves exploited by

unscrupulous bosses. Yes, some have found themselves out of work, or on

lower wages because of low-skilled immigration. It is harder than ever

for young people to buy their first house. There's a growing divide

between a more prosperous older generation and a struggling younger

generation. There's a gapings can. Between a wealthy London and the

rest of the country. When you add all these things up,

there only surprise is there's so much surprise in Westminster about

the public's appetite for change. Made no mistake the referendum was a

vote to leave the European Union, but it was also a vote for serious

change. Yet, so many of our political and business leaders have

responded by showing they still don't get it.

There are politicians, democratically elected politicians,

who seriously suggest that the Government should find a way of

ignoring the referendum result and keeping Britain inside the European

Union. And there are business leaders whose response has been not

to plan for Britain's departure or think of the opportunities that

withdrawal presents, but to complain about the result and criticise the

electorate. Well, I couldn't be clearer. Brexit means Brexit and

we're going to make a success of it. There'll be no attempts to remain

inside the EU. APPLAUSE

There'll be no attempts to rejoin it by the backdoor, no second

referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union. As Prime

Minister I will make sure that we leave the European Union. And I am

equally clear about the need for change. I'm not going to ignore the

public when they say they are sick of politics as usual. I am going to

make sure that the motives of the Government will never be in any

doubt. We, the Conservatives, will put ourselves at the service of

ordinary working people. We will make Britain a country which works

for everyone. Whoever you are, and wherever you are from. The

Government has made great strides in the last six years, dealing with the

debt crisis, reducing the deficit and presiding over an economic

recovery. If we are going to make sure our economy truly works for

everyone, if we are going to help people take control of their lives,

we need to take action in four different ways. We need to reform

the economy, to allow more people to share in the country's prosperity.

We need to put people back in control of their lives. We need to

give more people more opportunity. And we need to get tough on

irresponsible behaviour in big business. I will start with economic

reform. Because for a Government that has overseen a lot of public

service reform in the last six years, it is striking that by

comparison, there's not been nearly as much deep economic reform. That

needs to change for a simple reason. If we want to increase our overall

prosperity. If we want more people to share in that prosperity, if we

want real bigger wages for people, if we want more opportunities for

young people to get on, we have to improve the productivity of our

economy. Yet, we have long had a problem with

productivity in Britain. So, I want to make its improvement an important

objective for the Treasury. I want to see an energy policy that

emphasises the responsibility of supply and lower costs for users. A

better research and development policy that helps firms make the

right investment decisions. More Treasury-backed project bonds for

infrastructure projects. More house building, a proper industrial

strategy to get the whole economy firing and a plan to help not one or

even two of our great regional cities, but every single one of

them. If we are going to have an economy that works for everyone, we

are going to need to give people more control over their lives. And

that means cutting out all the platitudes about strikeholder

societies and doing something radical. Because as we saw when

Cadbury's, that great Birmingham company was brought by craft or when

AstraZeneca was almost sold, transy ient shareholders, who are companies

investing other people's money are not the only with an interest when

firms are bought or sold, local communities often have a stake and

often the whole country has a stake. It is harder to think of an industry

and AstraZeneca is one of the jewels in its crown. Two years ago the

Government almost allowed AstraZeneca to be sold, to a US

company with a record of asset-stripping and whose attraction

to the deal was to avoid tax. A proper industrial strategy would not

stop the sale of firms of British firms to foreign ones. It should be

capable to step in to defend a sector which is as important as

pharmaceuticals to Britain. I wanted to sea changes in the way big

business is governed. The people who run them are supposed to be

accountable to non-executive director, who are supposed to think

about the longer questions and defend the interests of

shareholders. In practise, they are drawn from the same narrow social

and professional circles as the executive team. As we have seen,

time and time again, the scrutiny they provide is just not good

enough. So, if I am Prime Minister, we are

going to change that system. We're going to have not just consumers

represented on company boards, but employees as well. There are other

ways too in which we need to put people back in control, as the

Government reforms public services, we should encourage public sector

workers to set up mutuals. As we take infrastructure decisions, like

with new housing, roads, or exploration or oil or gas, the

benefit should be shared, not just with local authorities, but with

local people themselves. And this brings me to the third way in which

we need to make our economy work for everyone. Which is by giving people

more opportunity. This to me is what the Conservative

Party is all about. In the name of equality, Labour end up holding

people back. But we believe in setting people

free, to go as far as their talents will take them.

That's why school reform is such a passion for so many Conservatives. I

will set out my own plans for schools policy in the coming weeks.

It is also why housing matters so much and why we need to do far more

to get more houses built. Because unless we deal with the housing

deficit, we will see house prices keep on rising. Young people will

find it even harder to afford their own home. The divide between those

who inherit wealth and those who don't will become more pronounced.

More and more of the country's money will go into expensive housing

instead of more productive investments which generate more

economic growth. The fourth way in which I want to make our economy

work for everyone, is by getting tough on irresponsible behaviour in

big business. Because, yes, we are the Conservative Party. Yes, we are

the party of enterprise. That does not mean we shall be prepared to

accept that anything goes. The FTSE, for example, is trading at about the

same level as it was 18 years ago. And it is nearly 10% below its high

peak. In the same period, executive pay has more than trebled. And there

is an irrational, unhealthy and growing gap between what these

companies pay their workers and what they pay their bosses.

So, as part of this changes, I want to make corporate governance, I want

to make shareholder votes on corporate pay, not just advisory,

but binding. I wan't to see more transparency, including the full

disclosure of bonus targets and the publication of pay multiple data.

That is the ratio between the CEO pay and the average worker's pay. I

want to simplify the way bonuses are paid.

And I also want us to be prepared to use and reform competition law, so

that markets work better for people. So, if there is evidence that the

big utility firms and the retail banks are abusing their roles in

highly consolidated markets, we shouldn't just complain about it, we

shouldn't say it is too difficult, we should do something about it.

And tax, we need to talk about tax. Because we are Conservatives, and of

course we believe in a low tax economy. In which British businesses

are more competitive and families get to keep more of what they earn.

We also understand that tax is the price we pay for living in a

civilised society. No individual and no business,

however rich, has succeeded all on their own. Their goods are

transported by road. Their workers are educated in schools, their

customers are part of sophisticated networks, taking in the public

sector, private sector and charities. It doesn't matter to me

if you are Amazon, Google or Starbucks, you have a duty to put

something back. You have a debt to your fellow citizens and have a

responsibility to pay your taxes. So as Prime Minister I will crack

down on corporate tax evasion. It is not anti-business to suggest that

big business needs to change. Better governance will help those

companies take better decisions for their own long-term benefit and that

of the economy overall. Under my leadership the Conservative Party

will resolutely remain the party of enterprise. And we will help British

businesses to stay competitive and create more well-paid jobs.

This is a different kind of Conservatism, I know. It marks a

break with the past, but it is in fact completely consistent with

Conservative principals. We don't just believe in markets, but in

communities. We don't just believe in

individualism, but in society. We don't hate the state, we value

the role that only the state can play.

And we believe everyone, not just the privileged few, has a right to

take ownership of what matters in their lives. We believe that each

generation of politicians, of business leaders, of us all, our

custodians, with the responsibility to pass on something better the next

generation. And above all, we believe in Britain. And we believe

in the British people. From Robert Peel to lady Thatcher,

from Joseph Chamberlain to church hill, throughout history it has been

the Conservative Party's role to rise to the occasion and to take on

the vested interests before us. To break up power when it is

concentrated among the few. To lead on behalf of the people I has been

our strength as a party that at moments of great national change we

have understood what needs to be done.

And believe me, nobody should doubt that this is another of those

moments of great national change. We must leave the European Union and

forge a new role for ourselves in the world.

We must make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but

for every single one of us. To do those things, we need to come

together as a party and as a country under strong and proven leadership.

And then together we will build a better Britain.

Thank you. Now, I have got some time for just a

small number of questions. John? Mrs May, you offer yourself as a

one-nation Prime Minister and a national unifier. How are you better

able to achieve that than your main opponent, your only opponent, Andrea

Leadsom? If I may, she has apologised for her comments in the

Times interview. How do you respond to that? I accept the apolicy and --

apology and I am here ensuring that what I am doing is talking about

what I would want to do as Prime Minister and leader of the

Conservative Party. And I would say if you look at what

you asked, John, how I would be able to unite the party and how I would

be able to do what I am talking about in terms of the social reform

and in uniting the country, I think look at my track record as Home

Secretary, where I have taken on some of the concerns and causes

people have had, some of which they have talked about for many years,

but I have been willing to address those. If you look at what I have

done on stop and search, for example, to help reduce inequality

which has taken place in stop and search. That is a track record that

shows I would be able and would deliver what I am talking about here

today. So, anybody else? Yes? Two questions. You said you would crack

down on individual and corporate tax evasion, where as George Osborne

failed in that. How would you do it differently? Secondly, and it is the

biggest applause in the room said there is no Brexit by the backdoor,

do you think Britain would stay in the single market? Would you try and

achieve that by relaxing free movement?

George has taken action on the question of corporate tax avoidance

but I think we need to go further and the public deal there has been

some response from companies but we need to talk to these companies

about their responsibility in paint taxes, and they do not make their

profits just to what they do, it is on the back of people, goods are

transported by roads, all this is paid for by taxation so there is a

need to put something back. In relation to the single market, we

need to get them their steel and trade, goods and services, services

are hugely important to the UK but I am clear that the Brexit vote was

also a message we need to bring control into free movement, which

cannot continue as it has up until now.

APPLAUSE A quick question, all these policies

if the manifesto, ID policies you provide outside the normal policies

can should we start building on the green belt to deal with the housing

deficit? These are new ideas I have come for two, such as what I am

saying on corporate governance and representation on boards. And

housing, we need to build more houses but I have always felt we

need to be more acute about how we do that. One of the problems at the

moment is people react and they feel there is going to be standard houses

put on an area close by them. I think we need more involvement of

people and better design in what we are looking at, and more in sympathy

with the areas where things are built, so I am not talking about

building on the green belt but we need to be more clever in how we

look at these sorts of developments. It's Emily Ashton at Buzz feed. You

pledge to fight a clean campaign but there seems to be nastiness online.

Yesterday there were claims of black Ops against Andrea Leadsom and we

have seen a Facebook page for Andrea Leadsom supporters accusing you of

being a sharia supporter and Andrea Leadsom of being a patriot. I think

it should be a clean campaign. I have signed a clean campaign pledge,

I think that is important, and on the sharia .4, fought to long

politicians in this country we fused to look at the issue of sharia law

and allowed this to continue without any question. I have been willing to

say no, I am concerned sharia law is operating in a way that could

discriminate against women and could be counter to our single rule of law

in the UK, so there is one rule of law here and that is why I have set

up this review I have, chaired by Professor Mona Siddiqui, which will

look at the operation of sharia law and if it is counter to our rule of

law. I spoke to you a lot before the

referendum, those who voted to remain where terrified but what can

you say to businesses? We need to get the deal right in relation to

leaving the EU so we have a good deal in terms of trade, goods and

services, but I would say to us is that now the UK has to look to the

rest of the world in a way it hasn't done when it has been a member of

the EU, so we should be open. We're a great trading nation, we want to

be open to opportunities of trade within Europe and the rest of the

world, and I think that is hugely important. There is a bright future

for us. There may be difficult times ahead but I think we can come

through those stronger and better and build those great opportunities

for young people that we all want to see. I will take just one more

question. Although you say you are opposed to a second referendum, if

there are demands for that, what would your response be? The British

people were given their chance to vote on this. They voted in numbers

we have not seen in elections for some time, they have given us a

message and I think we respond to that message and do what they have

asked us to. Thank you. APPLAUSE

Good morning. Morning, everyone. This morning I have written a letter

to Graeme Grady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, and