LONDON: Seeking to keep her leadership role, Britain's embattled Prime Minister Theresa May will reach out to rivals within her Conservative party and the Opposition by taking into consideration their "views and ideas" as part of her efforts to implement Brexit despite her reduced power.
A month after she lost her parliamentary majority in the snap polls, May is seen admitting to her weakened position and will also say that she was still committed to "bold action" to fulfill her promises of change. "Though the result of last month's General Election was not what I wanted, those defining beliefs remain; my commitment to change in Britain is undimmed," May will say this in her speech to mark one year since she took charge at Downing Street last year following David Cameron's post-Brexit referendum exit.
"My belief in the potential of the British people and what we can achieve together as a nation remains steadfast; and the determination I have to get to grips with the challenges posed by a changing world never more sure," she said. "I am convinced that the path that I set out in that first speech outside Number 10 and upon which we have set ourselves as a government remains the right one," she will say.
The speech will coincide with the launch of a report commissioned by her on tackling abuses in modern working practices in the UK and make a plea for cross-party support to implement its recommendations as well as other policies.
"When I commissioned this report I led a majority government in the House of Commons. The reality I now face as prime minister is rather different," she will say. "So I say to the other parties… come forward with your own views and ideas about how we can tackle these challenges as a country. We may not agree on everything, but through debate and discussion — the hallmarks of our parliamentary democracy — ideas can be clarified and improved and a better way forward found."
The speech comes at a time when May's leadership is at its weakest, amid open calls by Tory MPs for her to stand down following her failure to secure a majority in the June 8 general election. She is also resisting calls from pro-Europeans in her party to move away from a so-called hard Brexit, while pro- Brexiteers want her to stand firm on the issue.
The Liberal Democrats said May's latest stance looked like a plea for help on Brexit from the Opposition Labour party, even though Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was already supporting her plans. Lib Dem Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said: "A call for Labour to contribute is superfluous. On the single biggest issue of our generation - Brexit - Corbyn isn't contributing, he is cheerleading."