Theresa May Election 2017

Welcome. Welcome, everybody to Twickenham. Everybody here knows

tricking them is a sentence of excellence. We have, as you know,

the top scientists, the National physical laboratory, the laboratory

of the Government chemist. But we are also a centre of excellence for

creative artists, as anybody who knows the interest of the island

knows. And a stone served from here, Noel Coward was born. But a rugby

kick away from here is the home of the Harlequins! It is Twickenham, a

place where there is extraordinary and excellent rugby. We are full of

extraordinary and excellent people. But today, we are thinking about the

general election. We need leadership that is both excellent and

extraordinary. And guess what? I know X Mac I know an extraordinary

woman and an excellent leader, and to reason, I hope you never tire of

hearing the following seven words. Please welcome the Prime Minister,

Theresa May. Thank you very much. I thought you

were going to say it never tire of visiting Twickenham next it is just

ten days to go until the selection which is the most crucial election

this country has faced in my lifetime. When we started off on

this campaign, nobody could have predicted the tragic turn that

events which take. Nobody could have imagined what would lead that

appalling depravity of a cowardly and callous killer to tag this --

target those in Manchester last week. We continue to hold all those

affected in our thoughts today, and let us continue to think and say

thank you to the brave and dedicated men and women of our police,

security services, our NHS and others who are continuing to deal

with the aftermath of the attack, many who have seen things they

should never have too see. Our thoughts continue to be with the

people of Manchester. But it is right that we carry on with our life

and we do not allow the terrorists to disrupt our way of life, so I am

coming back into the election campaign, and as I do so, I want to

remind people of the crucial choice that they face. The questions for

this campaign have not changed since I called it a six weeks ago. One is

about a simple choice - who do you trust? To stand up for Britain,

negotiate Brexit and get the best possible deal for Britain in Europe?

Theresa May! Well! I was going to say Jeremy Corbyn, but someone else

has the answer. That is important because Brexit matters because it is

the basis of so much else. Economic security, prosperity, our place in

the world, the future of public services, the opportunities for our

children. We need to ensure we get the best possible deal for this

country from Brexit. Secondly, it is about a simple question which is who

has the will and the plan to deliver on Brexit and make a success of it?

And that is important because those negotiations will start in just 11

days after polling day. And I will not be any putting it off, it will

not be possible to stolid, the Europeans are ready, that is the

timetable set. Who do people want to see on that plane going over to

Brussels to negotiate and stand up for Britain? And third, it is about

a simple reality, which is if I lose just six seats, my Government loses

its majority. So that could mean in ten days' time, a Government in

chaos, Jeremy Corbyn in number ten. No! John McDonell in the Treasury.

Diane Abbott in the Home Office. And Nicola Sturgeon and the lip Dems

pulling the strings. So every vote than me and my local candidates will

be able to stop that from happening. But it will also be able to

strengthen my handy mean negotiations for Brexit. The

Europeans know that if we have a weak Government and the home

parliament, it will not be able to stand up for Britain. We know that

if you have a coalition of chaos as a Government with a party

desperately holding onto power by having to work and compromise with

that that Government will be weak abroad because it will be

compromised at home. So, I repeat, every vote for me and my candidates

is a vote and stable Government that is needed and the leadership that is

needed. We are needing the best yield for Brexit and taking was

beyond Brexit. Every vote for me and my local candidates is a vote for

strong and stable leadership in the national interest. That is what this

election is about. It is about leadership, stability, it is about

doing the right thing for Britain. And it is only the Conservative

Party that can provide that. Because we have shown it in Government. When

I first became PM, people predicted there was going to be an immediate

financial crash, economic dangers, but we see record numbers of jobs

and great growth. When I became PM, we saw the country was divided, it

could never come together again. But now I see a unity around the country

of purpose with people wanting to get on the job of making a success

of Brexit. When I first became Prime Minister, what Britain needed was

clear vision, a plan for the way ahead and a strong Government to

take us forward and be committed to delivering Brexit, and that is what

we have given, that is what we have provided. And that is what you get

with the security of a strong and stable Government. I think is what

looks like. And the alternative should worry us all. Not just

because Jeremy Corbyn has shown time and time again he is not up to the

task of leadership. If you cannot lead your own party,, how can you

lead the country through this very important historical moment. It is

not just because of the people he puts around him have shown that they

are not up to the task of Government. I think you have given

your view on some of them already! John McDonell, a Marxist who had to

Google the deficit. He believes in abolishing MI5 at the Treasury.

Diane Abbott, who cannot add up. In charge of our anti-terrorism work.

And undoing all the good we have done in relation to immigration over

the years. Those are the alternatives. What this country

needs is a strong and stable Government and the leadership to

take us forward. We also know that that party in Government, were they

to get there, would be propped up by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

And what price would be extract? A second referendum on Brexit. A

second referendum on independence. Chaos. And that would hit our

economic prosperity. And all the good work, the progress we have made

in our economy, the progress we have made together, would be put at risk.

That chaos would simply drive businesses and jobs away from this

country, and it is too big a risk to take. So we know there is no safe

way to vote Labour. If you do not want Jeremy Corbyn negotiating

Brexit, then you need to vote for local Conservative candidates up and

down the country. We need that strong and stable leadership and

Government to take that, as I say, not just through Brexit, but beyond.

Because Brexit is not just a process, it is an opportunity. It is

an opportunity for us to build a stronger and more prosperous

Britain. And we are the party that has the plan and the vision to do

just that. It is about getting the right deal abroad, so it is about

bringing back control of our laws, money and control of our borders.

Getting back to right deal, but it is also about securing new deals for

trade in British goods and services around the whole of the world. It is

about leading the world in working against terrorism, it is about

making Britain the strongest and most secure place to be in Europe.

And it is about what we do here at home, and the opportunities we

provide for ordinary working families up and down the country. It

is about ensuring that we continue to work to bring immigration, net

migration down to sustainable levels of tens of thousands. Because if

immigration is too high and too fast, it makes it difficult to build

a cohesive society. It is about ensuring we are providing more

people with the opportunity of their own homes to building more

affordable homes. Ensuring a strong economy, providing jobs for people

that we are keeping that prosperity, not just in certain parts of the

country, but seeing prosperity through the whole of the country,

and that is what our modern industrial strategy is designed to

do. It is about ensuring people seeing more pay with high-end

national living wage and a real protections, better protections for

workers. It is about ensuring that every child has a good school place,

that we have record funding going into our schools. And really

high-quality technical education for young people for the first time in

this country. About ensuring Owings colony -- economy can fund these.

Putting at least ?8 million extra into our NHS and having the biggest

expenditure, programme for buildings and technology in the NHS that the

country has ever seen. It is about ensuring that we are standing up to

the extremists who try to divide our society. And it is about standing up

and dealing with the burning injustice as we see in this country,

because those injustices remain a scar on the soul of our nation. It

is about ensuring we do not see discrimination on the basis of race,

gender or other factors. It is about dealing with those injustices. It is

this party who has the plan and the vision to go forward and to provide

that strong and more prosperous Britain for the future. And as I

look ahead, I recognise that I think that is a plan around which people

will come together, come together with a unity of purpose to deliver

Brexit and make a success of it, come together with a unity of

purpose to build a stronger Britain for the future with more

opportunities for us in the future. Come together, recognising the

importance of the choice that people face on June eight on election day.

And as I say, I think that choice is very simple, it is whether people

want that strong and stable leadership that will build that

better future for this country, away coalition of chaos led by Jeremy

Corbyn, propped up by the Lib Dems and SNP. So I am offering myself as

Prime Minister with the resolute determination to get on with Brexit

and make a success of it, with the optimism that we can get the best

possible deal for everyone across this country, and with a

determination to build that better future and the vision of a stronger,

more prosperous Britain. We have the vision, the plan, and we believe we

have the will and determination to put it through. But, of course, only

the people can give me the mandate. So as people go to vote on June the

8th, I say they face a crucial tries, who do they want to see

leading this country in those negotiations? Who do they want to

see leading the country leading into the future? I have the vision, I

have the plan and I have the determination to do it. But only

they can give me the mandate. So I am backing ordinary, working people

across this country. I ask you to give me your backing. Give me the

backing to lead for Britain, give me the authority to speak for Britain,

strengthen my hand as I fight for Britain and give me your backing and

I will deliver for Britain. CHEERING landmark thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Now I am going to take

some questions from the media. You have attacked a Jeremy Corbyn's

record on security, but you were Home Secretary for six years. What

would you say to suggestions that powers to exclude... Have been

barely used. Is not your record on security that should be under

scrutiny today? Let's look at what I did as home secretary over those

years. I stopped more hate preachers than any Home Secretary has ever

done before. Their row one to who I booted out of the as well. When I

was Home Secretary, we gave extra powers, we put through major

legislation in an act to make sure that our services had what they

needed to do the job they need to do on a day-to-day basis, and they have

to be ever vigilant. In contrast, Jeremy Corbyn has said, you may have

said that he was proud, and he has opposed every single piece of

anti-terror legislation in his time in Parliament. That is the contrast.

I am willing to stand up for our national security and do what is

necessary in the British interest. He is not. You talk about achieving

the best deal beyond Brexit, but did a chill go through your bones when

you heard Chancellor Merkel say yesterday that the EU must fight for

its own destiny and the EU could no longer depend on Britain? Isn't the

truth that the main EU allies have No, we are not leaving Europe, we

are leaving the European Union but they will have some decisions to

take about the nature of that organisation and institution going

forward. And that is what the 27 have started to look at and what

they will need to look at for the future. I am very clear that we

continue to want a deep and special partnership with the remaining 27

countries and we will continue to be committed to working with others in

Europe, both in terms of we want a comprehensive free trade agreement

but also in terms of our security. We are committed to ensuring we play

the role we have done at the forefront of Nato which with the

United States and others has ensured that we keep Europe safe. The Home

Secretary confirmed today that only once has one of the temporary

exclusion orders been applied in the last two years since you brought

this in. Once and yet more than 300 jihadi 's have returned from the

Middle East. Doesn't that show you why just as bad on security as

Labour would be? No, what it shows is that if you look at what we do

with people who return home might have been involved in fighting in

somewhere like Syria is everybody is looked at on a case-by-case basis.

That temporary exclusion order didn't even exist under the last

Labour government. It was me as Home Secretary that put it into the

legislation to give the powers to the police. But how those powers are

applied our operational decisions for the police and security

services. You mentioned Nicola Sturgeon in

your speech and last night she said that your position on ruling out a

second independence referendum until Brexit has paid out would be

unsustainable if the SNP wins the general election in Scotland. Would

you consider changing your position if they do indeed win over the

border? This is a general election for who is going to be in government

for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I have

been clearer about talking about a second independence referendum at

this time and it is not the time. What we need to be doing now is as

we face this historic moment, we need to get the Brexit negotiations

right and we need to be working together and not falling apart. But

I'm also interested because I believe Nicola Sturgeon said

yesterday that she didn't think Jeremy Corbyn was capable of being

Prime Minister but at the same time, also said that she would prop him up

and put him into government if she had the opportunity. You've spoken

several times today about the mandate that you are seeking. How

big a majority would make calling the election worthwhile? And are you

campaigning down here because your concern about a liberal democrat

researchers? I have been in politics quite a few years now and I never

predict election results. We just get out there and we campaign and we

work hard to gain people trust but to earn their support. And this

election is going to be won real people going and voting and casting

real votes on June three eight. I don't predict election results I

called this election because what was clear to me was that other

parties wanted to frustrate the Brexit negotiations, undermine our

efforts to get the best possible deal for Britain. Every vote for me

and my local candidates will strengthen my hand in those Brexit

negotiations and will be eight vote for strong and stable leadership in

the national interest. You said that Jeremy Corbyn is not

up to the task of leading the country. The polls suggest the

Conservative lead has narrowed from around 20 points to around five.

What do you say about the fact that people's confidence seems to be

growing in him? The poll that matters is the one that will take

place on June the 8th. That will determine who is going to be Prime

Minister. This is the most crucial election this country has faced in

my lifetime and it is a very simple choice that people have between

strong and stable leadership under me and my team, going forward with a

clear plan for a stronger more prosperous Britain, a plan for the

Brexit negotiations and with a strong hand in those Brexit

negotiations or the coalition of chaos with Jeremy Corbyn propped up

by the SNP and the Liberal Democrats. Those negotiations take

place 11 days after election day. We cannot spend time sorting out who is

in their government. No attempt to put this off. The timetable is

clear. We need to be ready, we are. I will take a couple more questions.

It may just be that the terrible event in Manchester has done this

but this seems to be quite a low-key campaign. I don't need to be rude

but you seem to be a bit of a glum bucket. Are you enjoying the

campaign? Will we see a bit more optimism am a bit more Boris, a bit

more life? It does seem a very subdued campaign so far. I think it

was absolutely right that we suspended campaigning for a time

after the Manchester attack and people have been respectful as they

have started back into campaigning and I think that is also important.

I said in my remarks, I am optimistic about what we can achieve

for this country for the future of this is a crucial election and there

is a very clear choice for people when they come to that poll on June

the 8th and it is that choice between the coalition of chaos led

by Jeremy Corbyn or the strong and stable leadership of me and my team,

going forward with a vision for a prosperous Britain for the future.

It is one week since your amendment or clarification on social care

policy which many have described as a U-turn. Is this a relaunched today

and if so, what are you trying to relaunch? No, if you have been

around over the last few weeks with knee you have seen that this is

exactly what I been doing up down the country. And the reason I am

doing it is because this is a cheat crucial election and it is important

that as people come closer to that vote, which is only next week, and

those Brexit negotiations start 11 days after that, that people focus

on the choice that is there for them and it is as I have just said, a

choice between a coalition of chaos, Jeremy Corbyn with Nicola Sturgeon

and the Lib Dems pulling the strings or the strong and stable government

that I and my team can provide with a plan for Brexit and the real

determination not just to get through Brexit and made a success of

it but actually to make this country and even better place to live for

all of us in the future. Thank you. Order. The Speaker of the House of

Commons demands order as things get a little rowdy in the chamber. The

Right Honourable gentleman will be heard. The speaker is the central

figure in the Commons. It is he or she will cause MPs to make their

speeches, ask their questions, give their statements. Statement, the

Secretary of State