What You Need To Know About The UK's Next Prime Minister, Theresa May
On Monday morning, Conservative Party favorite Andrea Leadsom bowed out of the race to replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after the Brexit vote in June. This leaves Member of Parliament and Home Secretary Theresa May as the presumptive winner and next PM.
Many in the UK may be familiar with the Conservative politician, but for those who haven't been closely reading into the Brexit balderdash here's a quick primer on Theresa's May's past and politics.
May Is A Longtime Conservative Politician And Has Successfully Implemented Conservative Policy
In one of Britain's most difficult cabinet positions, Home Secretary1, Theresa May thrived, serving a historically long term and successfully implementing conservative policies:
Ms. May, 59, is Britain's longest serving Home Secretary for sixty years. During this time, she has reformed the police service, toughened drug policy and strengthened surveillance measures via the so-called 'snooper's charter'. She is best known for her tough approach to immigration and has drafted some of the most rigid immigration policies in recent times. This year Ms May introduced a policy limiting the number of non-EU citizens who can qualify to live and work in the UK, meaning those migrating for employment must take home a minimum of £35,000 a year.
Like David Cameron, May Was A 'Remain' Campaigner But Has Promised To Abide By The Brexit Vote
May is a known Conservative, but is not part of the ultra-right wing faction that led the "leave" campaign. Like David Cameron, she is a moderate bureaucrat who supported the "remain" campaign:
May had campaigned tepidly for Britain to remain but on Monday sought to reassure those who voted "leave" that she would respect their wishes. She said "Brexit means Brexit" and promised that as leader she would not attempt to stay in the EU or "rejoin it by the back door." … Like Cameron, she comes from the pro-EU wing of the party[.]
[Fox News]
Despite Her Opposition To Brexit, Conservatives Of All Stripes Quickly Rallied Around Her
Gaining support from the party's most conservative members, David Cameron, and her competitors Theresa May has quickly gained wide support that can virtually guarantee a smooth transition to power:
Conservative leaders quickly coalesced around Ms. May, ruling out the possibility of reopening the race to give the party's rank-and-file members a choice…There appeared to be no hurdles to her ascension, especially after the two most prominent Conservatives behind the victory of the campaign to leave the European Union — Boris Johnson and Michael Gove — signaled their support for her…"I have no doubt Theresa will make an excellent party leader and prime minister, and I'm encouraged that she's made it clear that Brexit means Brexit — that we will leave the E.U.," [Johnson] said.
Despite Wide Support, May Is Notoriously Hard To Work With, And A Known Micromanager
Over the weekend, May fell victim to a typical trope of women in politics, when a tape was released of a senior Tory saying she was a "bloody difficult woman" in a supposedly candid moment. But many of her friends and colleagues back up the opinion that she is hard to work with:
"She can be a bugger," says one otherwise admiring colleague succinctly. "Not easy to work with." May fights her corner tigerishly and, unusually for a politician, she does not seem to care much about being liked…May is a famously reluctant delegator, needing to know exactly what her juniors are doing and to chew over every detail of decisions — a micro-management style she cannot hope to apply to an entire government — and like Brown she demands unswerving loyalty. (Although unlike him, she generally won't say behind your back what she wouldn't say to your face).
As A Member Of Parliament, May Has A Mixed Political Record
May has voted for incredibly conservative policies, while also supporting more liberal ones such as gay marriage:
May, 59, voted in favor of repealing the Human Rights Act; she also voted in favor of the war in Iraq. A few months ago, she spoke out in favor of the leaving the European Convention of Human Rights, sparking criticism within her own party. She voted in favor of gay marriage, although she has a mixed record, and has indicated a move towards a more inclusive economic policy; she gave a speech on Monday decrying the "unhealthy and growing gap" between "bosses" and "workers."
[Jezebel]
May Has Remained Consistent, However, In Her History Of Vociferous — Be It Conservative — Feminism
May's feminism is distinctly Conservative — she believes in austerity economics, despite research showing welfare cuts hurt women more than men — but it is real. In opposition she did not just advocate flexible hours to help working women, but tried introducing it at party headquarters. She campaigned publicly on pay discrimination and fought privately for pay rises for female staff. As home secretary she has legislated against human trafficking, moved to tackle both FGM and so-called "coerceive control" or emotional abuse within relationships, and championed gay marriage.
Despite Her Experience, May Will Be Entering Office In A Very Difficult Position
Conservatives are surely relying on May's experience and political acumen to tackle the tough process of transition out of the EU, but as Vox points out, May is in an incredibly tough political bind:
[May] promised there would be "no attempts to remain inside the EU" nor "attempts to rejoin it by the backdoor."… However, she has also pledged not to trigger Article 50 immediately upon taking the top job. She wants the UK to wait until at least the end of the year, in an attempt to negotiate terms with the EU that would preserve British access to European markets without having to allow unfettered immigration. The problem, however, is that the EU leadership is unlikely to agree to any such deal. They don't want to reward Britain's vote with favorable exit terms…So unless May can change the EU leadership's mind, she's in a pretty impossible position.
[Vox]
