Theresa May Speech Election 2017

Good morning and welcome to the launch of the Conservative Party

manifesto in Wales and it was in north Wales the Prime Minister had

the plans to call a general election in the national interest.

Our plan for a stronger Wales, stronger Britain and prosperous

future. As we leave the European Union, union of the United Kingdom

is more important now than ever before, and as Secretary of State, I

have seen it first hand, the Prime Minister's commitment to Wales and

the union. Since her very first speech on the steps of Downing

Street, Theresa May has put the union at the heart of her programme

for government. And we have a strong record in Wales. City, region deals

in Cardiff and Swansea with a commitment to a north Wales growth

deal. Investment in railways with plans to modernise across Wales, and

a fair funding formula, something many had complained about for

decades but it was this Prime Minister who agreed a new funding

settlement for Wales within her first six months in office. But this

manifesto is about our future, and whatever plans we have, making a

success of Brexit will be key. It essential to our economy, central to

our future stability and security. At this time of change, change that

could threaten the union, it has never been more important to have a

strong and stable leadership in the national interest. A Prime Minister

that is ready to take the difficult decisions and ready to face 27

nations that could be lining up to oppose us. I have the privilege to

introduce someone that is a true friend of Wales, a true champion of

the union, and someone that will always act in the interests of our

whole country. Please welcome the Prime Minister.

APPLAUSE Thank you very much and it is good

to be here in Wrexham today with just 17 days to go until this

crucial general election. Just 11 days after that, the European Union

wants the Brexit negotiations to begin. The UK's seat at the

negotiating table will be filled by me or Jeremy Corbyn. The deal we

seek negotiated by me or Jeremy Corbyn. There will be no time to

waste and no time for a new government to find its way so the

stakes in this election are high. Our future prosperity, our standard

of living, our place in the world, and the opportunities we want for

our children and our children's children are either in the strong

hand you grant me by supporting my candidates in this election or the

weak hand off Jeremy Corbyn backed by the Liberal Democrats, Plaid

Cymru and the SNP who don't want Brexit to succeed. It is your

choice, your decision. Every vote for me and my team in this election

will be a vote to strengthen my hand in the negotiations to come. Every

vote for any other party - Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru -

is a vote to send Jeremy Corbyn into the negotiating chamber on our

behalf and that is the stark reality of the choice we must focus on over

the next 17 days. Because our future prosperity depends on getting the

next five years right. That's why we need someone representing Britain

who is 100% committed to the cause. Not someone who is uncertain or

unsure, but someone utterly determined to deliver the democratic

will of the British people, because if we don't get this right, the

consequences for the United Kingdom and for the economic security of

ordinary working people will be dire. If we do, the opportunities

ahead are great. The Welsh Conservative manifesto I launched

today is a plan to make the most of the opportunities together. It is a

plan to make Wales and our union stronger. For this manifesto sets

out a vision of Britain around which I believe we can all unite. It is

the mainstream manifesto of a mainstream party determined to

deliver for mainstream Britain. And to all those who work hard and make

this country what it is, I say this - if you have a job but don't always

have job security, I am backing you. If you own your own home but worry

about paying the mortgage, I am backing you. If you can just about

manage but worry about the cost of living and getting your children

into a good school, I am backing you. If you feel you have been let

down and left behind by politics and government for far too long, I am

backing you. APPLAUSE

And to all the decent men, women and families you meet in countless towns

and villages across Wales and the country, I am backing you. To those

for whom life is often much harder than many seem to think or realise,

I am backing you. For those who want to do their best for their children

and given a fair chance to get on, I am backing you. I am backing those

who want a more secure and full life. I am backing those whose only

wish is that the children will do better than themselves, and to those

who look to the Government and politicians for little help and

support, I am backing you too. Because too often in the past,

ordinary working people have found the help and support they need just

isn't there. And I know that sense of disenchantment is particularly

acute here in Wales. We saw that when people here in Wrexham and

across Wales chose to ignore the hysterical warnings of labour, Plaid

Cymru and Liberal Democrat politicians in Cardiff Bay and voted

to leave the EU. We see it now in the way the same politicians refuse

to accept that vote as they try to find new ways to put obstacles in

our way and the cause of that emerging golf is clear - it is

because the Labour Party has taken people in Wales granted for decades.

They have been charging Cardiff Bay for nearly 20 years. Some

Parliamentary constituencies have returned nothing but a Labour MP for

a century or more. Welsh Labour have come to believe they have a right to

govern. Yet during their time in charge, the performance of Wales'

public services has fallen further and further behind. The Welsh NHS is

failing because Labour cut its budget. The A waiting times and

cancer treatment targets haven't been met for nearly a decade. '

it is little wonder Welsh voters chose to send a message to the

politicians in the referendum last June. That should have been a

wake-up call, but it wasn't. Labour, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrat

politicians ignored Wales instead. Worse, they closed ranks with Plaid

Cymru propping up Labour in Wales in order to defend the status quo, as

they are determined to do in Westminster too. That would put

Jeremy Corbyn in power in a coalition of chaos, and you don't

negotiate the right Brexit deal for Britain from a position of weakness.

Jeremy Corbyn's coalition of chaos would deliver higher taxes, higher

debt and higher unemployment. Labour's policies may have been

written by Jeremy Corbyn in London, but the people of Wales will get the

bill. But it's not just that Jeremy Corbyn is too weak and shambolic to

get the right deal for Britain in Europe, not just that his fantasy

manifesto would leave families across Wales picking up the bill, it

is also that even traditional Labour supporters, people like those in

Wrexham and across Wales who have loyally given the Labour Party

allegiance for generations, people taught by their parents and

grandparents that Labour was a party that shared their values and stood

up for the community, they look at what Jeremy Corbyn believes and they

are appalled. They see a party that once believed in hard work, now

headed by Jeremy Corbyn who wants to crush aspirations and desert those

who hope for a better life. A party that once stood for our union of

Nations, now headed by a man who is willing to collaborate with

separatists in order to get into power. A Labour Party that first

established or independent nuclear deterrent to keep our country safe,

now led by a man who wants to get rid of it and even talks about

abolishing the army. The prospect of him walking through the door of

Number Ten, flanked by an avowed Marxist like John McDonnell and an

incompetent Diane Abbott, all propped up by the Liberal Democrats,

Plaid Cymru and others, should scare us all.

APPLAUSE The risk is real and the stakes are high. A loss of just six

seats will cost the Government majority and create a hung

parliament. Just six fewer MPs means a hung parliament in which the minor

parties will flock to prop up Jeremy Corbyn. That will deliver nothing

but chaos. It means Jeremy Corbyn imposed as Prime Minister, propped

up by the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru Anderson P, all of whom oppose the

decision to leave the EU and want to fight to keep us in. And who knows

what deals Jeremy Corbyn will do to get the support, because we know he

would do anything to get their support. And after the weekend, we

now know the tactics he is prepared to adopt to get into Number Ten. He

has no strong plan for Britain, which takes on the country's

long-term challenges like I have. He wants to sneak over the line by

manipulating the fears of old and vulnerable people and falsely

claiming families will lose their house as a result of our social care

policy. That is shameful, and it is a shameful abdication of

responsibility. So today, I want to put an end to

Jeremy Corbyn's fake claims and clarify any doubts about our social

care policy and the family home. My manifesto is honest and upfront

about our challenges. It includes plans to strengthen the social care

system with more unsustainable funding to cope with the long-term

pressures caused by the fact that we are an ageing society. Jeremy Corbyn

wants to duck this reality and play politics. But there will be 2

million more people over 75 years old in Britain over the next decade

alone. Our social care system will collapse unless we make some

important decisions now about how we fund it. That is why we have two

act. And it is why, to give people security, we included in our plans,

measures to make sure that nobody has to sell the family home to play

-- to pay for care. And we also said that we would protect ?100,000 of

your savings. So however expensive your care, you can pass something

onto your family. Let's be clear. This plan replaces the existing

system, where people often get poor quality care and stand to lose

almost all their savings and assets including the family home. This plan

addresses the worry people have when they have a loved one with a

long-term condition and they don't know how they are going to afford to

care for them. So these are good and sensible plans. They provide the

beginning of a solution to social care, without increasing taxes on

younger generations. And I should say, we are the only party in this

election prepared to face up to the reality of our ageing society and

offer a long-term solution. But since my manifesto was published,

the proposals have been subject to fake claims made by Jeremy Corbyn.

The only things he has left to offer in this campaign are fake claims,

fear and scaremongering. So I want to make a further point clear. This

manifesto says that we will come forward with a consultation paper. A

government Green paper. And that consultation will include an

absolute limit on the amount people have to pay for their care costs. So

let me reiterate, we're proposing the right funding model for social

care. We will make sure nobody has to sell their family home to pay for

care. We will make sure there is an absolute limit on what people need

to pay. And you will never have to go below ?100,000 of your savings,

so you will always have something to pass on to your family. And what is

Jeremy Corbyn's plan? He promises a nonsensical fantasy policy that can

only be funded through massive tax rises on younger generations. In

fact, just recently, he threatened to increase the basic rate of income

tax for millions of people from 20 to 25%, to fund social care. That

tells you everything you need to know about Jeremy Corbyn's answer to

the problem. The alternative is that he sticks to the status quo, which

too often provide support care and leaves old and vulnerable people

having to sell their family homes. This manifesto, our -- our

manifesto, provides a better way. With it I am leading Britain while

Mr Corbyn is simply scaremongering among the elderly and the

vulnerable. It is a strong forays -- plan for a stronger union and a

stronger Wales. It plan to respond to and deliver on the concerns of

ordinary working people everywhere. A plan to build a country that works

for everyone not the privileged few. It is a detailed programme for

government. Rooted in the hopes and aspirations of ordinary working

people in towns and cities across the country. A clear plan to meet

the big challenges we face together. Because unlike the other parties, we

are being upfront and honest with the British people about the scale

of the task we face. That is what leadership is about. Not ducking the

big decisions. Painting grand and fantastical visions, pretending you

can have something for nothing, and no difficult decisions need to be

made. Leadership means being straight with people about the

challenges ahead and the hard work required to overcome them. And that

is what this manifesto does. It sets out the five great challenges faced

by our country. One, the need for a strong economy. Two, responded to

Brexit and a changing world. Three, tackling enduring social divisions.

Four, responding to an ageing society. And five, facing up to fast

changing technology. And it sets out what we will do to address each one.

And these are challenges that we all face, right across our United

Kingdom. And the lesson of Britain's history is that we all do best when

we tackle challenges together. United. That is how we have overcome

obstacles in the past. And that is how we will make a success of our

future. In setting out our plan, we are offering a vision for our United

Kingdom not just for the next five years, but for the years and decades

beyond. A country where everyone has the economic security they need and

the chance to live a secure and full life. A prosperous country, where

each generation can do better than the last. But that all starts with

getting the right Brexit deal. One that works for the whole United

Kingdom. When I sit down with the Prime Minister's -- PMs, chancellors

of Europe, I would do so as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

and Northern Ireland. When I fight for the best deal, it will be a deal

that works for the whole of the United Kingdom. And when I talk

about a better future for our country, I mean the whole United

Kingdom. Because unlike Jeremy Corbyn, I believe heart and soul in

this great union of Nations. And if you give me your backing to

represent you at the negotiating table in Europe in the months ahead,

I will fight for every person in this United Kingdom. Young and old,

rich and poor, city, town, country, and all the villages and hamlets in

between. It is my fierce determination to get the right deal

for every single person in this country. And every vote for me and

my team in this election will strengthen my hand at the

negotiations and help me deliver the right deal for Britain. A vote for

anyone else is a vote to send Jeremy Corbyn to represent us in Europe

instead. Because it may say Labour, Liberal Democrat or Plaid Cymru on

the ballot, but it is Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote. And if we get

Brexit right, if we are strong in our negotiations with the EU, we can

do more to build a stronger Britain and a stronger Wales here at home.

Too often in the past, UK governments have tended to devolve

and forget. The government Eilidh will put that right. That is why

this manifesto contains clear commitments to spread opportunity

and prosperity beyond London and the south-east, and to improve the

economic security of people here in Wales. Why it includes a specific

commitment to bring forward in North Wales growth deal, connecting North

Wales with Northern England, to encourage cross-border working,

building on the success of the Cardiff City deal, and Swansea Bay

city deal that I signed in south Wales just a few weeks ago. It is

why we are committed to bringing down the barriers to trade and

commerce between South Wales and the wider UK, by scrapping the tolls on

the Severn crossings for good. Helping 25 million drivers who use

the crossings every year, and providing a ?100 million boost to

the local economy. It is why we will introduce a new UK chaired

prosperity fund, replacing ineffective and restrictive EU

structural funds with a new targeted scheme, whose sole purpose would be

to reduce the inequalities that exist within and between the four

nations of our United Kingdom. And it is why as we leave the European

Union, we will ensure that power sits close to the people of the UK

than ever before. That is why as powers are repatriated to the UK, we

expect to be able to increase the decision-making powers of the well

Scotland. As long as no new barriers are created between a rowing union.

We will ensure the industrial strategy will benefit people, towns

and businesses across Wales. That will help to create the high

skilled, highly paid jobs of the future. And give our young people

every chance of getting on and leading a full and happy life. As

Prime Minister of this United Kingdom, that is what I want

everyone our country. That is because of a simple truth. Across

the United Kingdom, we may be four nations. But at heart we are one

people. And we achieve more together.

APPLAUSE. We all have a stake in each other's

success. We all have a stake in our shared future. That is why this

election is so important. Because this election more than any other is

about the long-term future of our country. Not just about the next

five years. But the years beyond. Not just about our future but the

future of our children and our children's children, too. We can get

the best possible deal from Brexit. We can redouble our efforts to make

things better here at home. And we can show that with hard work, with a

clear vision and the right plan, a mainstream, active, determined

government can deliver a better, more secure future for ordinary

working people across this land. We need strong and stable leadership to

do it. There are just 17 days to go. 11 days after that, the Europeans

want the Brexit talks to begin. And the UK's seat at the negotiating

table will be filled by me or Jeremy Corbyn. The deal will -- we seek,

negotiated by me, or Jeremy Corbyn. They will be no time to waste. And

no time for a new government to find its way. So focus on that choice.

Support my candidates here in Wales. Give me the strong hand I need to

deliver Brexit. Give me that strong hand and I will deliver for Britain.

Give me your support. And with confidence in ourselves, and with a

unity of purpose in our country, we can and we will go forward together.

APPLAUSE. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you. Now I will take some questions from the media.

Laura... Thank you, Prime Minister. Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News. You have

today again, and repeatedly through this campaign, attacked Jeremy

Corbyn forbidding on and unsure come to use your phrase. -- for being

uncertain. But you have just announced a significant change to

what was announced in your manifesto, to say there will now be

the possibility of a cab on social care. That was not in the plans

announced four days ago. That does not look strong and stable, does it?

Looks rather like panic in the face of opposition. And can you tell us

today where the cab on social care costs will be set?

What we set out in our manifesto is a long-term plan for securing a

sustainable future. Schalke in this country. So I said, if you look at

the figures, the number of over 75-year-old, two million more within

the next decade, our social care system will collapse unless we

address this problem, and we cannot leave it to the future, we have to

start dealing with it now. That is why I want to fix it and I am going

to fix it, and the plans that we set out with very clear in the

manifesto, you can look in the manifesto, Laura, I think it was

page 6465, we said we would issue a green paper, and within that we will

be consulting on the details of the proposals and the principles that we

have set out. What is important is that we have seen, over the last few

days, Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party trying to scare vulnerable and

elderly people by telling them, and trying to suggest, that they would

lose their family homes to pay for their care. Nobody is going to have

to pay for their care, nobody is going to have to, while they are

alive, nobody is going to have to lose their family home. We will

ensure that people are able to pass on savings to their children. That

is the proposals that we have put forward. It is the right way to deal

with this problem that we all face, and we need to deal with it now.

APPLAUSE Robert, Sky?

Thanks very much, Robert Nisbet from Sky News. You talk about a coalition

of chaos, but isn't this a manifesto of chaos now? What else are you

going to clarify within the next few days? And what message do you think

this is sending out to those Prime Ministers and chancellors around

Europe that you are prepared to be so flexible with what you originally

set down in stone? I think the message that our manifesto sets out

is that, as a party and as a leader, I and we the party are prepared to

be honest with people about the challenges that we face, and are

prepared to set forward the hard decisions that have to be taken, but

a way forward that ensures we are looking after the interests of

ordinary working people across this country. And I think what people

will see across this country is that they do you have a choice. They have

a choice between Jeremy Corbyn being propped up by votes for any other

party in this country, or a government led by me which will

provide that strong and stable leadership, which will ensure that

we are being honest with each other about the challenges we face, and

have a plan to fix those. That is the aborted thing. We will fix those

challenges, we will address them, and we will also build a stronger

Britain and a better future. Emily. Prime Minister, Emily Morgan, ITV

Use. You say you are prepared to take the difficult decisions, but

you have just buckled under pressure over your social care plans. Isn't

this U-turn just a cynical attempt to stop voters leaving you in

droves? Look, first of all, let's be clear - we have not changed the

principles that we set out in the manifesto. We are very clear about

the principles on which this system will operate and will be based. What

we have done is clarified that, in the green paper, which will be a

consultation document, we will have a upper limit, absolute limit on the

amount that people will pay for care. But the basic principles

remain absolutely the same as when they were put in the manifesto and

announced last week, that nobody is going to have to pay for their care

while they are alive, that nobody is going to have to have their family

homes sold while they are living in it, and that everybody will be able,

where they have that, to pass ?100,000 onto their families. That

is four times the limit that currently exists at the moment. This

is a good arrangement, it ensures that people can pass savings to

their families, it ensures they have the peace of mind, rather than

sitting there month after month, worrying about the money going out

of their bank account to pay for their care, worrying about what is

going to happen in the future, this takes that worry away from people.

But it also ensures that we have a sustainable system for funding

social care for the future. That is the challenge we need to address, we

are the only party that is doing it. Michael. Michael Crick, Channel 4

News. I don't recall a U-turn on a manifesto in any election campaign.

Now we've had national insurance and this. As Margaret Thatcher might

have said, you turn if you want for turning, the lady is for turning -

doesn't this show that you are really weak and waffly, not strong

and stable? Can you give an idea of what the cap will be, 100,000,

200,000, half a million? Don't the people of this country have a right

to know what the cap will be? We have not changed the principles of

the policy that we set out in our manifesto. Those policies... Those

policies remain exactly the same. There will be aspects of how this

operates that we will consult on through the green paper. We were

honest that we were going to have a green paper and we would be

consulting people on how the system operates. What we have done, which

other parties have singularly failed to do, is to recognise the challenge

that we face, to respect the needs and concerns of the British people,

and to provide a long-term plan for sustainable social care, which means

that elderly people in this country won't have to worry about how their

social care will be paid for in the future. Now, do we have the daily

post here before I go to the...? Yes. Shane Brennan, Daily Post. What

guarantees can you give the Welsh farmers and manufacturers that they

will have access to tariff free markets after Brexit? Well, we want

to insure that we'd negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement

with the European Union. We want that, I mean, obviously, we will be

working to have as tariff free and frictionless a trade arrangement

with the rest of the remaining member states of the European Union

after we leave the EU. What we will also provide for Welsh farmers, and

for farmers across the United Kingdom, is we will be able, across

the United Kingdom, to decide the support system for farming that

actually works for Welsh farmers, for farmers across the rest of the

United Kingdom. It will be a system that simply else has devised for a

wider group, it will be for us to be able to have that system of support

for farmers and to ensure that the support being provided is as

effective as possible. Chris. Chris Hope, the Telegraph. Two quick

questions, yes or no, will anything else in the manifesto change between

now and Juliet? Second question, quickly, why, as Home Secretary, did

you grant asylum to the Libyan man arrested by police for the murder of

Yvonne Fletcher? Well, on the latter point, there are rules about how

asylum is granted, and any decisions that are taken are taken legally and

in accordance with the law of this country. And on the first question,

nothing has changed! Nothing has changed. We are offering a long-term

solution for the sustainability of social care for the future. We are

ensuring that people, elderly people, will not have to worry, they

will be able to ensure that their care, whether it is in the home or

for them to go into a home, is being paid for and they won't have to

worry about those bills month after month after month. And they will

have the confidence of knowing that they can pass ?100,000 of savings on

to their children. Nothing has changed. We will consult on how the

system operates, and we will do that through a green paper. Er... Anybody

else? Sorry, I can't see, I think that was the last hand. Jessica

Alcock, the Guardian. In case I am missing something, this dementia tax

would apply to someone who dies a longer death from dementia, but if

you dialogue and death from cancer, you would have the inheritance tax

threshold as ?1 million, whereas it reduces to 100,000 in this case,

that is still the case, isn't it? Go you are using terms that have been

used by the Labour Party to try and scare people in this country. This

is a system that will ensure people who are faced with the prospect of

either requiring care in their own home more or needing to go into a

home for care, are able to see that support provided for them and don't

have to worry that month by month basis about where the funding is

coming. They won't have to sell their family home while they are

alive, they won't have to be worrying, as I say, about those sums

of money going out of the bag account each month, and they will be

up to pass savings on to their children. This is... This is a

policy which ensures sustainability for our social care system going

into the future, and we need that, because our system will collapse,

with our ageing society, unless we do take the decisions we need. As I

said, when I was speaking, the only suggestion that Jeremy Corbyn made

about paying for social care was to put up the taxes, the basic rate of

tax from ?20 up to 25p so younger generations would have been paying

for that. Thank you. APPLAUSE

I wanted to talk about protecting older people.

The Conservative plan to confiscate assets pound for pound from elderly

people