Britain’s Theresa May will promise to fight on as prime minister and pursue bold domestic reform despite her diminished authority in a speech this week relaunching her leadership after 12 tumultuous months in power.
As her minority government prepares to start the difficult task of passing Brexit through parliament, May will remind Britons of her promise to build a fairer society, seeking to repair a reputation damaged by an ill-judged snap election.
Almost one year on from her first day as prime minister — a job she took on after Britain’s shock referendum vote to leave the European Union — May will urge voters and political opponents to help her “tackle the injustice and vested interests that threaten to hold us back”.
“My commitment to change in Britain is undimmed,” May will say on Tuesday, according to advanced extracts from her speech.
May called the election on June 8 in an attempt to cash in on high poll ratings and win support for her plan to make a clean break with the EU in 2019.
But the gamble backfired when voters stripped her of a majority in parliament and forced her party into a deal with a small Northern Irish party to prop up a minority government.
“In this new context, it will be even more important to make the case for our policies and our values, and to win the battle of ideas both in parliament as well as in the country,” May will say.