Damian Green: Theresa May will fight 2022 election as Tory leader
2 min read
Theresa May is preparing to lead the Conservative party into the next general election, Damian Green has said.
The Prime Minister’s de facto second-in-command said a “good Brexit deal” alongside successful policies at home would convince the public that she was the right person for the job, in time for the 2022 vote.
Mrs May has previously said that she would seek to remain in post beyond the current five-year term, despite reports of backbench plots to oust her after the Conservatives’ disastrous performance in June's general election.
The First Secretary of State’s comments come days after Philip Hammond repeatedly ducked questions on whether she should stay beyond 2022.
Speaking to the Spectator, Mr Green said the Prime Minister was a “fighter” with an agenda that she "wants to put that into practice."
"By 2022, she will have a big record of achievement to show,” he said.
"I'm optimistic that we'll have a good Brexit deal, and we're determined to pursue a domestic agenda that will show people who may not have previously benefited from Conservative successes can do so.
"Different types of people in different parts of the country. I think people will see that as a success."
Mr Green also batted away claims that Mrs May appears robotic and said people’s view of her will change once they see her “warm” personality.
"She’s warm, has a sense of humour, she’s good company and she is, as has been observed, fantastically hardworking and conscientious," he said. "The more people see that, the better she will do politically."
When asked at a press conference in Japan last month whether she saw her premiership as lasting beyond the current term, Mrs May insisted: “I said I wasn’t a quitter, and there’s a long-term job to do, there’s an important job to be done in the United Kingdom.”
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