Following the Prime Minister’s decision to step down after six years in office, to give Britain new leadership after the EU Referendum, the Conservative Party has started the process of selecting a new Leader, and that Leader will be the second female Prime Minister in this country’s history, and of course both female Prime Minister’s will have been Conservatives!
I believe that new Leader, and our next Prime Minister, should be Theresa May MP, the current Home Secretary.
Nearly two thirds of Conservative MP’s agree with me, as do national newspapers which advocated Leaving the EU like The Sun, Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph, but also many leading MP’s who campaigned for Brexit, including David Davis MP, Chris Grayling MP and Priti Patel MP.
I know Theresa personally. I have worked with her since early 2011, and since the last General Election I have been one of her closest colleagues in Parliament, her PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary), a political position which supports senior Ministers in Parliament and is a personal link between Ministers and other MP’s.
Over the last five years I have found her to be an extraordinarily effective politician and highly respected on all sides. Theresa has an extremely strong work ethic, vast experience and she is a strong, proven leader, but she is compassionate and committed to social justice, as her record in office proves.
Following the referendum, our country needs strong, proven leadership – to steer us through this period of economic and political uncertainty, and to negotiate the best possible terms as we leave the European Union.
We need leadership that can unite our country. With the Opposition in turmoil, and divisive nationalists in Scotland and Wales, it is crucially important to unite and govern in the best interests of the whole country.
We need a bold, new, positive vision for the future of our country – a vision of a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us.
It is well known in Westminster that Theresa May is amongst the hardest working politicians, with responsibility for hugely important things like policing, immigration and the border force.
In addition to carrying out all the normal duties of an MP, she also takes responsibility for the highest level deportation and security warrants and counter-terrorism measures – and she has been performing this role for over six years. The Home Office is often regarded as one of the most challenging jobs in politics, and few politicians last longer than a couple of years in the role. Theresa May, having completed nearly six and a half years as Home Secretary, will next month become Britain’s longest serving Home Secretary for nearly 200 years, since Viscount Sidmouth in 1822.
It is only by extreme professionalism and successful work that she has been able to do this, and her record speaks for itself: As Home Secretary, Theresa has not only overseen a fall in crime to its lowest recorded level, she has made it her mission to tackle injustice wherever she has found it. From Stephen Lawrence to Hillsborough, where there has been evidence of police corruption, she’s exposed it – and she’s reformed stop and search, improved the way vulnerable people are treated in the criminal justice system, and introduced the first ever Modern Slavery Act.
It is this experience which she brings to the table in her bid to become leader – and it is because of this experience and her proven leadership and compassionate policies that I am supporting her. Her experience would put the country in a strong position when negotiating Britain’s new settlement with the EU, and make sure that we get the best and fairest deal that is in the interest of all the country. As I have said I also believe that Theresa May is a real unity candidate, with the ability to bring together people on both sides of the EU debate.