To loud applause from fellow Conservative MPs, the Prime Minister elect set out her vision for her term of office.
Maidenhead MP Theresa May spoke outside the House of Commons this evening to make her maiden speech as leader of the Conservative party. She will become Prime Minister on Wednesday evening.
Making her speech she was surrounded by MPs, and warmly applauded during the short statement.
Mrs May is to become the country’s leader sooner than expected after her leadership rival, Angela Leadsom, stepped down this morning.
This evening, Mrs May paid tribute to her rival, praising “the dignity she has shown today”. She also praised David Cameron for “the leadership he has shown”.
“I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative party to become its leader,” she said.
Although Mrs May backed Remain during the referendum campaign, she has vowed to respect the verdict of the British people and work on removing the UK from the European Union.
“Brexit means Brexit and we’re going to make a success of it,” she said, adding that she will negotiate “the best deal for Britain” and to “forge a new role for ourselves in the world”.
Her second priority is “to unite the country” and, as part of that, Mrs May will also aim to give people “more control”.
She said: “We need a strong, new positive vision for the future of our country – a vision of a country that works not for the privileged few but for every one of us because we are going to give people more control over their lives.
“And that’s how, together, we will build a better Britain.”
Watch the speech as BBC News captured it:
“We are going to give people more control over their lives” says Theresa May, pledging to “build a better Britain” https://t.co/UeDiaaIsWS
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 11, 2016
