Theresa May wants to be PM 'for the next few years' to deliver Brexit
2 min read
Theresa May has said she wants to stay on as Prime Minister for "the next few years" in order to deliver Brexit.
In an interview with the Sun to mark a year since entering Downing St, the Prime Minister refused to say she would stay on to fight the next general election - an unlikely prospect anyway after her performance in June.
She insisted calling the snap vote had been the "right thing to do", even though it was a disaster for her own credibility.
And she urged the public to back her in the Brexit negotiations, saying: "What I want to do is just recognise that there is a job to be done here, over the next few years. I want to get on with doing that job.”
CAMPAIGN FAILURES
Opening up about the failures of the election campaign, Mrs May said her ideas for Britain did not come across on the stump.
“I set out a year ago, when I stood on the steps here [at Downing Street], the sort of vision I had. The sort of country I wanted us to be.
“I don’t think that vision came through sufficiently during the campaign."
She also said her party should have focused more on the economy and taking apart Labour's own plans for government.
“And I don’t think we talked enough about what we had achieved in terms of the economy and jobs," she said.
“We did not do enough not just on the positives of the economic record we had, but also the negatives of what Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto would mean for people.
'DEPRESSING'
Mrs May argued that despite the disappointing results she had been obliged to form a government on 9 June.
“There were some pretty depressing moments when I was watching really good colleagues lose their seats on that Friday morning. But my view was that it was the largest party, it was our duty to form a government.
“You can walk away at these moments, but I think actually it is important to stand up to your responsibilities and accept that.”
On her own future, she would not say whether she wanted lead the party into the 2022 election, saying she was focused on the Brexit talks.
“My view is I have always said that I would be here for the full term, but what I have also said is that over the years I have given my life to this Conservative party and I will serve as long as they want me to serve.”
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