Hung Parliament: ‘Disastrous’ night for Theresa May as Conservatives fail to secure expected support

After the formation of the Coalition Government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previously, pursuing reform of the police, taking a harder line on drug policy and introducing restrictions on immigration.^[3]

Following the resignation of David Cameron on 24 June 2016, May announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party and quickly emerged as the front-runner. She won the first ballot of Conservative MPs on 5 July by a significant margin, and two days later won the votes of 199 MPs, going forward to face a vote of Conservative Party members in a contest withAndrea Leadsom. Leadsom’s withdrawal from the election on 11 July led to May’s appointment as leader the same day. She was appointed Prime Minister two days later.

Early life and education

Born on 1 October 1956 in Eastbourne, Sussex, May is the only child of Zaidee Mary (née Barnes; 1928–1982) and Hubert Brasier (1917–1981).^[4]Her father was a Church of England clergyman who was chaplain of an Eastbourne hospital. He later became vicar of Enstone with Heythrop and finally of St Mary’s at Wheatley, to the east of Oxford.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Wheatley, where May’s father was vicar and where May married.^[9]^[10]

May was educated primarily in the state sector but with a short spell at an independent Catholic school. She initially attended Heythrop Primary School, a state school in Heythrop, followed by St. Juliana’s Convent School for Girls, aRoman Catholic independent school in Begbroke, which closed in 1984.^[11]^[12]^[13]

At the age of 13, May won a place at the former Holton Park Girls’ Grammar School, a state school in Wheatley. During her time as a pupil, the Oxfordshire education system was reorganised and the school became the new Wheatley Park Comprehensive School.^[11]^[14] May then went to the University of Oxfordwhere she studied geography at St Hugh’s College, graduating with a second class BA degree in 1977.^[15]

Early career

Between 1977 and 1983 May worked at the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 as a financial consultant and senior advisor in International Affairs at the Association for Payment Clearing Services.^[16] Both May’s parents died during this period, her father in a car accident in 1981 and her mother of multiple sclerosis the year after.^[17]^[18]

May served as a councillor for the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994, where she was Chairman of Education (1988–90) and Deputy Group Leader and Housing Spokesman (1992–94). In the 1992 general election May stood unsuccessfully for the seat of North West Durham and failed to win the1994 Barking by-election. In the 1997 general election, May was elected as the Conservative MP for Maidenhead.^[16]

Early political career

Having entered Parliament, May became a member of William Hague‘s front-benchOpposition team, as Shadow Spokesman for Schools, Disabled People and Women (1998 – June 1999). She became the first of the 1997 MPs to enter the Shadow Cabinet when in 1999 she was appointed Shadow Education and Employment Secretary. After the 2001 election the new Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smithkept her in the Shadow Cabinet, moving her to the Transport portfolio.

May was appointed the first female Chairman of the Conservative Party in July 2002. During her speech at the 2002 Conservative Party Conference, she explained why, in her view, her party must change: “you know what people call us: theNasty Party“.^[19]^[20] In 2003, she was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Transportafter Michael Howard‘s election as Conservative Party and Opposition Leader in November that year.^[21]

In June 2004 she was moved to become Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. David Cameronappointed her Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in December 2005 after his accession to the leadership. In January 2009 May was made Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

On 6 May 2010, May was re-elected MP for Maidenhead with an increased majority of 16,769 – 60 per cent of the vote. This followed an earlier failed attempt to unseat her in 2005 as one of the Liberal Democrats’ leading “decapitation-strategy” targets.^[22]

Home Secretary

Main article: Home Office under Theresa May

May with then Prime Minister, David Cameron, May 2010

On 12 May 2010, when May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of his first Cabinet, she became the fourth woman to hold one of the British Great Offices of State, after (in order of seniority)Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister), Margaret Beckett (Foreign Secretary) and Jacqui Smith(Home Secretary).^[23] As Home Secretary, May is also a member of the National Security Council.^[24] She is the longest-serving Home Secretary for over 60 years, since James Chuter Ede who served over six years and two months from August 1945 to October 1951. May’s appointment as Home Secretary was somewhat unexpected, as Chris Grayling had served as shadow Home Secretary in opposition.^[25]^[26]

May’s debut as Home Secretary involved overturning several of the previous Labour Government’s measures on data collection and surveillance in England and Wales. By way of a Government Bill which became the Identity Documents Act 2010, she brought about the abolition of the Labour Government’s National Identity Card and database scheme^[27]^[28]and reformed the regulations on the retention of DNA samples for suspects and controls on the use of CCTV cameras. On 20 May 2010, May announced the adjournment of the deportation to the United States of alleged computer hacker Gary McKinnon.^[29] She also suspended the registration scheme for carers of children and vulnerable people, with May saying that the measures were “draconian. You were assumed to be guilty until you were proven innocent, and told you were able to work with children.”^[30]^[31]

On 4 August 2010 it was reported that May was scrapping the former Labour Government’s proposed “go orders” scheme to protect women from domestic violence by banning abusers from the victim’s home.^[32] This was followed on 6 August 2010 by the closure of the previous government’s “ContactPoint” database of 11 million under-18-year-olds designed to protect children in the wake of the Victoria Climbié child abuse scandal.^[33]

On 2 June 2010, May faced her first major national security incident as Home Secretary with the Cumbria shootings.^[34]^[35]She delivered her first major speech in the House of Commons as Home Secretary in a statement on this incident,^[36] later visiting the victims with the Prime Minister.^[37]^[38] Also in June 2010, May banned the Indian Muslim preacher Zakir Naikfrom entering the United Kingdom.^[39] According to the Telegraph, a Home Office official who disagreed with this decision was suspended.^[40] In late June 2010, May announced plans for a temporary cap on UK visas for non-EU migrants.^[41] The move raised concerns about the impact on the British economy.^[42]

May speaking at the Ukraine Forum on Asset Recovery in 2014

In August 2013 May supported the detention of David Miranda, partner of Guardianjournalist Glenn Greenwald under the Terrorism Act 2000, saying that critics of the Metropolitan Police action needed to “think about what they are condoning”.^[43] Lib Dem peer and former Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald accused May of an “ugly and unhelpful” attempt to implicate those who were concerned about the police action of “condoning terrorism”.^[43] The High Court subsequently acknowledged there were “indirect implications for press freedom” but ruled the detention legal.^[44]

May also championed legislation popularly dubbed the Snooper’s Charter, requiring internet and mobile service providers to keep records of internet usage, voice calls, messages and email for up to a year in case police requested access to the records whilst investigating a crime. The Liberal Democrats had blocked the first attempt,^[45] but after the Conservative Party obtained a majority in the 2015 general election May announced a new Draft Investigatory Powers Bill similar to the Draft Communications Data Bill, although with more limited powers and additional oversight.^[46]^[47]

Police and crime

Speaking at the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) conference on 29 June 2010, May announced radical cuts to the Home Office budget, likely to lead to a reduction in police numbers.^[48] In July 2010, May presented the House of Commons with proposals for a fundamental review of the previous Labour government’s security and counter-terrorism legislation, including “stop and search” powers, and her intention to review the 28-day limit on detaining terrorist suspects without charge.^[49]^[50]

On 26 July 2010, May announced a package of reforms to policing in England and Wales in the House of Commons.^[51]The previous Labour Government’s central crime agency, Soca (Serious Organised Crime Agency), was to be replaced by a new National Crime Agency. In common with the Conservative Party 2010 general election manifesto’s flagship proposal for a “Big Society” based on voluntary action, May also proposed increasing the role of civilian “reservists” for crime control. The reforms were rejected by the Opposition Labour Party.^[51]

Following the actions of some members of Black Bloc in vandalising allegedly tax-avoiding shops and businesses on the day of 26 March TUC march, the Home Secretary unveiled reforms^[52] curbing the right to protest, including giving police extra powers to remove masked individuals and to police social networking sites to prevent illegal protest without police consent or notification.^[53]

In July 2013, May welcomed the fact that crime had fallen by more than ten percent under the coalition government, while still being able to make savings. She said that this was partly due to the government removing red tape and scrapping targets to allow the police to concentrate on crime fighting.^[54]

In 2014, May delivered a well-known speech to the Police Federation, in which she criticised many aspects of the culture of the police force.^[55] In the speech, she said:

When you remember the list of recent revelations about police misconduct, it is not enough to mouth platitudes about “a few bad apples”. The problem might lie with a minority of officers, but it is still a significant problem, and a problem that needs to be addressed … according to one survey carried out recently, only 42% of black people from a Caribbean background trust the police. That is simply not sustainable … I will soon publish proposals to strengthen the protections available to whistleblowers in the police. I am creating a new criminal offence of police corruption. And I am determined that the use of stop and search must come down, become more targeted and lead to more arrests.^[56]

On 9 December 2010, in the wake of violent student demonstrations in central London against increases to higher-education tuition fees, May praised the actions of the police in controlling the demonstrations but was described by The Daily Telegraph as “under growing political pressure” due to her handling of the protests.^[57]^[58]

In December 2010, May declared that deployment of water cannon by police forces in mainland Britain was an operational decision which had been “resisted until now by senior police officers.”^[59] She rejected their use following the widespread rioting in Summer 2011 and said: “the way we police in Britain is not through use of water cannon. The way we police in Britain is through consent of communities.” May said: “I condemn utterly the violence in Tottenham…. Such disregard for public safety and property will not be tolerated, and the Metropolitan Police have my full support in restoring order.”^[60]

In the aftermath of the riots May urged the identification of as many as possible of the young criminals involved. She said: “when I was in Manchester last week, the issue was raised to me about the anonymity of juveniles who are found guilty of crimes of this sort. The Crown Prosecution Service is to order prosecutors to apply for anonymity to be lifted in any youth case they think is in the public interest. The law currently protects the identity of any suspect under the age of 18, even if they are convicted, but it also allows for an application to have such restrictions lifted, if deemed appropriate.” May added that “what I’ve asked for is that CPS guidance should go to prosecutors to say that where possible, they should be asking for the anonymity of juveniles who are found guilty of criminal activity to be lifted.”^[61]

Anti-social behaviour

On 28 July 2010, May proposed to review the previous Labour Government’s anti-social behaviour legislation signalling the abolition of the “Anti-Social Behaviour Order” (ASBO). She identified the policy’s high level of failure with almost half of ASBOs breached between 2000 and 2008, leading to “fast-track” criminal convictions. May proposed a less punitive, community-based approach to tackling social disorder. May suggested that anti-social behaviour policy “must be turned on its head”, reversing the ASBO’s role as the flagship crime control policy legislation under Labour.^[62]^[63] Former Labour Home Secretaries David Blunkett (who introduced ASBOs) and Alan Johnson expressed their disapproval of the proposals.^[64]

Drug policy

Khat bundles

In July 2013, May decided to ban the stimulant khat, against the advice of theAdvisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The council reached the conclusion that there was “insufficient evidence” it caused health problems.^[65]Explaining the change in the classification May said: “The decision to bring khat under control is finely balanced and takes into account the expert scientific advice and these broader concerns”, and pointed out that the product had already been banned in the majority of other EU member states, as well as most of the G8 countries including Canada and the US.^[66] A report on khat use by the ACMD published in January 2013 had noted the product had been associated with “acute psychotic episodes”, “chronic liver disease” and family breakdown. However, it concluded that there is no risk of harm for most users, and recommended that khat remain uncontrolled due to lack of evidence for these associations.^[67]

Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker accused May of suppressing proposals to treat rather than prosecute minor drug offenders from a report into drug policy commissioned by the Home Office.^[68]^[69] The Home Office denied that its officials had considered this as part of their strategy. Baker cited difficulties in working with May as the reason for his resignation from the Home Office in the run-up to the 2015 General Election.^[70]^[71]^[72]^[73]

Immigration

In 2010, May promised to bring the level of net migration down to less than 100,000.^[74] In February 2015, The Independentreported, “The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced a net flow of 298,000 migrants to the UK in the 12 months to September 2014—up from 210,000 in the previous year.”^[75] In total, 624,000 people migrated to the UK in the year ending September 2014 and 327,000 left in the same period. Statistics showed “significant increases in migration among both non-EU citizens – up 49,000 to 292,000 – and EU citizens, which rose by 43,000 to 251,000.”^[75]

May rejected the European Union’s proposal of compulsory refugee quotas.^[76] She said that it was important to help people living in war-zone regions and refugee camps but “not the ones who are strong and rich enough to come to Europe”.^[77] In May 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported that she had tried to save £4m by rejecting an intelligence project to use aircraft surveillance to detect illegal immigrant boats.^[78]

Family migration

European Economic Area members in blue and green

On 11 June 2012, May, as Home Secretary, announced to Parliament that new restrictions would be introduced, intended to reduce the number of non-European Economic Area family migrants. The changes were mostly intended to apply to new applicants after 9 July 2012.^[79] The new rules came into effect from 9 July 2012 allowing only those British citizens earning more than £18,600 to bring their spouse or their child to live with them in the UK. This figure would rise significantly in cases where visa applications are also made for children. They also increased the current two-year probationary period for partners to five years. The rules also prevent any adult and elderly dependents from settling in the UK unless they can demonstrate that, as a result of age, illness or disability, they require a level of long-term personal care that can only be provided by a relative in the UK.^[80]

An MP, who was concerned about this, addressed May in Parliament as to whether she had examined the impact on communities and families on modest incomes, but he received no direct response.^[81] Liberty concluded that the new rules showed scant regard to the impact they would have on genuine families.^[82] The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration conducted an evidence based inquiry into the impact of the rules and concluded in their report that the rules were causing very young children to be separated from their parents and could exile British citizens from the UK.^[83]

Deportation decisions

May, David Cameron and MalaysianPrime Minister Najib Razak, 14 July 2011

At the Conservative Party Conference on 4 October 2011, while arguing that the Human Rights Act needed to be amended, May gave the example of a foreign national who the Courts ruled was allowed to remain in the UK, “because—and I am not making this up—he had a pet cat”. In response, the Royal Courts of Justice issued a statement, denying that this was the reason for the tribunal’s decision in that case, and stating that the real reason was that he was in a genuine relationship with a British partner, and owning a pet cat was simply one of many pieces of evidence given to show that the relationship was “genuine”. The Home Office had failed to apply its own rules for dealing with unmarried partners of people settled in the UK.^[84] Amnesty International said May’s comments only fuelled “myths and misconceptions” about the Human Rights Act and Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarkesubsequently called May’s comments “laughable and childlike.”^[85]^[86]

In June 2012, May was found in contempt of court by Judge Barry Cotter, and stood accused of “totally unacceptable and regrettable behaviour”, being said to have shown complete disregard for a legal agreement to free an Algerian from a UK Immigration Detention Centre. As she eventually allowed the prisoner to be freed, May avoided further sanctions including fines or imprisonment.^[87]^[88]

May responded to a Supreme Court decision in November 2013 to overturn her predecessor Jacqui Smith‘s revocation of Iraqi-born terror suspect Al Jedda’s British citizenship by ordering it to be revoked for a second time, making him the first person to be stripped twice of British citizenship.^[89]^[90]^[91]

May was accused by Lord Roberts of being willing to allow someone to die “to score a political point” over the deportation of mentally ill Nigerian man Isa Muazu.^[92] According to Muazu’s solicitor, May had arranged for the asylum seeker, who was said to be “near death” after a 100-day hunger strike, to be deported by a chartered private jet.^[92] To strengthen the Home Office’s tough stance an “end of life’ plan was reportedly offered to Muazu, who was one of a number of hunger strikers at the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.^[93]

Abu Qatada deportation

Abu Qatada boards a plane for deportation to Jordan

On 7 July 2013, Abu Qatada, a radical cleric arrested in 2002, was deported toJordan after a decade-long battle that had cost the nation £1.7 million in legal fees,^[94] and numerous prior Home Secretaries had been unable to resolve.^[95] The deportation was the result of a treaty negotiated by May in April 2013, under which Jordan agreed to give Qatada a fair trial, and to refrain from torturing him.^[96]

May has frequently pointed to Qatada’s deportation as a triumph, guaranteeing in September 2013 that “he will not be returning to the UK”, and declaring in her 2016 leadership campaign announcement that she was told that she “couldn’t deport Abu Qatada” but that she “flew to Jordan and negotiated the treaty that got him out of Britain for good”.^[97]^[98] The Qatada deportation also shaped May’s views on theEuropean Convention on Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights, saying that they had “moved the goalposts” and had a “crazy interpretation of our human rights laws”, as a result, May has since campaigned against the institutions, saying that British withdrawal from them should be considered.^[94]

Passport backlog

In mid 2014, the Passport Office faced a backlog in developing processing passport applications, with around 30,000 applications hit by delays.^[99] David Cameron suggested this had come about due to the Passport Office’s receiving an “above normal” 300,000-rise in applications.^[100] It was revealed, however, that May had been warned the year before, in July 2013, that a surge of 350,000 extra applications could occur owing to the closure of processing overseas under Chancellor Osborne’s programme of cuts.^[101] Around £674,000 was paid to staff who helped clear the backlog.^[102]

Birmingham schools row

In June 2014, an inflamed public argument arose between Home Office and Education Ministers about responsibility foralleged extremism in Birmingham schools.^[103]^[104] Prime Minister David Cameron intervened to resolve the row, insisting that May sack her Special Advisor Fiona Cunningham (now Hill) for releasing on May’s website a confidential letter to May’s colleagues,^[105] and that Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, apologise to the Home Office’s head of Security and Counter-Terrorism, Charles Farr, for uncomplimentary briefings of him appearing on the front page of The Times.^[106]^[107]

Minister for Women and Equality

May and Justine Greening speaking at Youth For Change, 19 July 2014

May held the office of Minister for Women and Equality in parallel to her office of Home Secretary from 2010 to September 2012, when this role was taken overMaria Miller.^[108]

May’s appointment as Minister for Women and Equality was criticised by some members of the LGBT rights movement,^[109] because she had voted against lowering the age of consent (in 1998) and against greater adoption rights for homosexuals (in 2002), though she had voted in favour of civil partnerships.^[110]^[111]May later stated, during an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time, that she had “changed her mind” on gay adoption.^[112] Writing for PinkNews in June 2010, May clarified her proposals for improving LGBT rights including measures to tackle homophobia in sport, advocating British society’s need for “cultural change”.^[113]

On 2 July 2010, May stated she would be supporting the previous Labour Government’s Anti-Discrimination Laws enshrined in the Equality Act 2010 despite having opposed it before.^[114] The Equality Act came into effect in England, Wales and Scotland on 1 October 2010.^[115] She did however announce that a clause she dubbed “Harman‘s Law”^[116]which would have required public bodies to consider how they can reduce socio-economic inequalities when making decisions about spending and services^[117] would be scrapped on the grounds that it was “unworkable”.^[118]

Support for same-sex marriage

In May 2012, May expressed support for the introduction of same-sex marriage by recording a video for the Out4Marriagecampaign.^[119] May became one of the first high-profile Conservative MPs to pledge personal support for same-sex marriage. She explained, “I believe if two people care for each other, if they love each other, if they want to commit to each other… then they should be able to get married and marriage should be for everyone”.^[120]

Prime Minister

Main article: Premiership of Theresa May

Further information: May ministry

Wikinews has related news:Theresa May to become UK Prime Minister as opposition begins leadership election

2016 Conservative leadership election

Further information: Conservative Party leadership election, 2016

On 30 June 2016, May announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party to replace David Cameron, who resigned after the outcome of the European Union membership referendum. May emphasised the need for unity within the party regardless of positions about leaving the EU and said she could bring “strong leadership” and a “positive vision” for the country’s future. Despite having backed a vote to remain in the EU, she insisted that there would be no second referendum, saying: “The campaign was fought… and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door…. Brexit means Brexit”, she said, adding that Article 50 (the formal notification of Britain’s exit from the EU) should not be filed until the end of 2016. On the issue of immigration, she agreed that there was a need to regain more control of the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe. Under questioning she conceded that it would not be possible totally to eliminate immigration to the UK.

In opinion polls May was regarded as the favourite choice among the public; in a Sky Data Snap Poll on 30 June, 47% of people said that May was their preferred Conservative candidate to be prime minister.^[121] May’s supporters included a number of Cabinet ministers, such as Amber Rudd, Chris Grayling, Justine Greening, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Fallon andPatrick McLoughlin.^[122]

May won the first round of voting on 5 July, receiving support from 165 MPs, while Andrea Leadsom received 66 votes andMichael Gove collected 48. According to The Guardian, May was “almost certain to be among the final two candidates.”^[123]After the results were announced, May said she was “pleased” and “grateful” for the support of other MPs and confirmed that she wanted to unite the party and the UK, to negotiate the “best possible deal as we leave the EU”, and to “make Britain work for everyone”.^[124] The two candidates with the fewest votes, Liam Fox and Stephen Crabb, immediately announced their support for May.^[125] May came in first place in the second ballot on 7 July with an overwhelming majority of 199 MPs against 84 for Leadsom and 46 for Gove, who was eliminated.^[126] Afterwards, May stated that she was delighted with her support among MPs, and she progressed to a vote of the Conservative Party membership against Leadsom^[127]

On 11 July, Leadsom announced her withdrawal from the leadership contest hours after May had made her first campaign speech, citing her lack of support amongst Conservative MPs as being a hindrance to becoming a credible prime minister.^[128] As the sole remaining candidate, May was declared Leader of the Conservative Party that evening.^[129]^[130]Soon after she became Leader of the Conservative Party by default on 11 July 2016, David Cameron announced that he would tender his resignation as prime minister two days later, making May the UK’s second female Prime Minister.

Early days

After being appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 July 2016, May became the United Kingdom’s second female Prime Minister,^[131] after Margaret Thatcher, and the first female UK Prime Minister of the 21st century.^[132]^[133] May told the media on 12 July 2016 that she was “honoured and humbled” to be the party leader and to become prime minister.

Responding to some calls for a general election (reported by the news media) to confirm her mandate, “sources close to Mrs May” said there would be no such election, according to the BBC.^[134] In a speech after her appointment, May emphasized the term Unionist in the name of the Conservative Party (UK), reminding all of “the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”^[135] By 15 July 2016, May had traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to meet with first minister Nicola Sturgeon, to reinforce the bond between Scotland and the rest of the country. “I’m coming here to show my commitment to preserving this special union that has endured for centuries,” she explained.^[136] After the meeting at Bute House, May offered the following comment about Scotland’s role in the negotiations about the UK’s exit from the EU. “I’m willing to listen to options and I’ve been very clear with the first minister today that I want the Scottish government to be fully engaged in our discussion.”^[137]

May also appointed new Cabinet members, in “one of the most sweeping government reshuffles for decades”^[138] described as “a brutal cull” by The Telegraph since several prominent members, including six of Cameron’s ministers were “sacked” (removed from their posts.)^[139] The early appointments were interpreted both as an effort to reunite the Conservative Party in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, and as “a shift to the right,” according to The Guardian.^[140] ITV’s Political Editor Robert Peston made the following comment: “Her rhetoric is more left-wing than Cameron’s was, her cabinet is more right wing than his was.”^[141]

Although May had supported remaining in the EU, she appointed prominent advocates of Brexit to key cabinet positions responsible for negotiating the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union, including Foreign Secretary, Brexit Secretary, and International Trade Secretary.^[142]^[136] Overall, of the 25 members of the May ministry (including May), seven supported Brexit, while the other 18 supported Remain.^[140]

May appointed former Mayor of London Boris Johnson to Foreign Secretary, former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd to Home Secretary, and former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis to the newly-created office of “Brexit Secretary.”^[143] Liam Fox and Philip Hammond, both of whom had previously served as Secretary of State for Defence (Fox in 2010–11 and Hammond in 2011–14), with Hammond having served as Foreign Secretary in 2014–16, were appointed to the newly-created office of International Trade Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, respectively.^[144]^[145] Elizabeth Truss was made Justice Secretary, the “first female Lord Chancellor in the thousand-year history of the role”.^[146] Andrea Leadsom, who was energy minister and May’s primary competitor for party leader, was made the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.^[147] As Downing Street Chief of Staff May appointed jointly Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy on 14 July.^[148] Both had been political advisers to her at the Home Office before both working outside the government for a brief period before coming to work on her leadership campaign.^[149]^[150]

May abolished the Department for Energy and Climate Change in a move criticised by Greenpeace which expressed concern the new government failed to see the threat from climate change, by Friends of the Earth which said climate change is happening now while the new government lowers its priority. The move is also widely criticised by other more impartial people and groups.^[who?] Climate change is included in the scope of a new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.^[151]

Political ideology

May has identified herself with the One Nation Conservative position within her party.^[152]

Describing her as a liberal conservative, the Financial Times characterised May as a “non-ideological politician with a ruthless streak who gets on with the job”, in doing so comparing her to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.^[153]

In The Independent, Rebecca Glover of the Policy Innovation Research Unit contrasted May to Boris Johnson, claiming that she was “staunchly more conservative, more anti-immigration, and more isolationist” than he.^[154]

May supported the UK remaining in the EU during the 2016 referendum campaign, but did not campaign extensively in the referendum and criticised aspects of the EU in a speech.^[155]^[156] It was speculated by political journalists that May had sought to minimise her involvement in the debate to strengthen her position as a future candidate for the Conservative party leadership.^[157]

During her leadership campaign, May said that “We need an economy that works for everyone”, pledging to crack down on executive pay by making shareholders’ votes binding rather than advisory and to put workers onto company boards,^[158]policies that The Guardian describes as going further than the Labour Party’s 2015 general election manifesto.^[159]

After she became Prime Minister, May’s first speech espoused the left, with a promise to combat the “burning injustice” in British society and create a union “between all of our citizens” and promising to be an advocate for the “ordinary working-class family” and not for the affluent in the UK. “The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives. … When we take the big calls, we’ll think not of the powerful, but you. When we pass new laws we’ll listen not to the mighty, but to you. When it comes to taxes we’ll prioritise not the wealthy but you.”^[160]

Personal life

May has been married to Philip May, an investment banker currently employed by Capital International, since 6 September 1980; the couple have no children.^[161] May has stated her regret that, for health reasons, she has not been able to have children with her husband, saying in one interview that, “You look at families all the time and you see there is something there that you don’t have”.^[162]^[163]

May is a member of the Church of England and regularly worships at church on Sunday.^[1]^[2]^[164] The daughter of an Anglican priest, Reverend Hubert Brasier, May has said that her Christian faith “is part of me. It is part of who I am and therefore how I approach things”.^[165]

May is known for a love of fashion and in particular distinctive shoes, wearing leopard-print shoes at her ‘Nasty Party‘ speech in 2002, as well as her final Cabinet meeting as Home Secretary in 2016. On Desert Island Discs in 2014 she chose a subscription to Vogue as her luxury item.^[166] However she has been critical of the media focusing on her fashion instead of her achievements as a politician.^[167]

May was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus of type 1 in November 2012. She is treated with daily insulin injections.^[168]

Since coming into prominence as a front-bench politician, May’s public image has divided media opinion, especially from some in the traditionalist right-wing press.^[169] Commenting on May’s debut as Home Secretary, Anne Perkins of The Guardian observed that “she’ll be nobody’s stooge”,^[170] while Cristina Odone of The Daily Telegraph predicted her to be “the rising star” of the Coalition Government.^[171] Allegra Stratton, then with The Guardian, praised May as showing managerial acumen.^[172]

Her parliamentary expenses have been “modest” in recent years (about £15,000 from 2005 to 2009).^[173]

Activism and awards

Prior to and since her appointment to Government, May actively supports a variety of campaigns on policy issues in her constituency and at the national level of politics. She has spoken at the Fawcett Society promoting the cross-party issue of gender equality. May was nominated as one of the Society’s Inspiring Women of 2006.^[174]

She is the Patron of Reading University Conservative Association, the largest political student group in Berkshire (the county of her Maidenhead constituency).^[175] In February 2013, BBC Radio 4‘s Woman’s Hour described her as Britain’s second-most powerful woman after Queen Elizabeth II.^[176]

Titles and honours

Styles

Styles of Theresa May

Reference style	The Prime Minister
Spoken style	Prime Minister
Alternative style	Mrs May or Ma’am

Miss Theresa Brasier (1956–1980)
Mrs Philip May (1980–1997)
Theresa May MP (1997–2003)
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP (2003–present)

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