Theresa May to admit her failings and tell Tories to focus on 'ordinary people' in make-or-break conference speech

Theresa May will admit that she needs to “shape up”
if she is to stay on as Prime Minister.
In a candid speech following months of speculation on
her future, she will also blast top Conservatives for
concentrating on party plotting rather than focusing
on “ordinary working people”.
And she will order her team to “give the country the
Government it needs”.
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Mrs May’s make-or-break speech on the final day of
the Tory Party conference comes after Boris Johnson
insisted the “whole Cabinet is united” behind her.
She will tell delegates in Manchester: “Beyond this
hall, beyond the gossip pages of the papers and
beyond the streets, corridors and meeting rooms of
Westminster, life continues – the daily lives of
ordinary working people go on. And they must be our
focus today.
“Not worrying about our job security but theirs. Not
addressing our concerns but the issues, the problems,
the challenges that concern them.
"Not focusing on our future but on the future of their
children and their grandchildren. So let us do our duty
by Britain.
“Let us shape up and give the country the
Government it needs.”
Mrs May’s message will be seen as a last throw of
the dice in her bid to cling on to power. She has
faced days of infighting at the party conference as
the fallout from her botched election campaign
dominated the event.
But the Foreign Secretary threw her an unlikely
lifeline – even after she snubbed his keynote speech.
Mr Johnson, whose Brexit “red lines” led to calls for
his sacking, defended her poll performance.
He told delegates: “You won – we won. Theresa May
won.
"She took this party to its highest share of the vote in
any election in 25 years – and the country owes her a
debt for her steadfastness in taking Britain forward as
she will to a great Brexit deal. The whole Cabinet is
united.”
Bookies Ladbrokes later slashed the odds on Mr
Johnson being the next Tory leader to just 4/1 –
making him the favourite, ahead of David Davis at
5/1.
Tonight, Mrs May insisted he had not undermined her,
saying that she did not want “yes men” in her
Cabinet.
And in an interview with Channel 4 News, she insisted
the job of PM was not making her miserable –
despite her disastrous year.
Speaking to Five News, she also expressed frustration
at her depiction as “the Maybot” during the election
because of her wooden performances.
The PM said: “I’m certainly somebody with feelings. I
don’t recognise that characterisation of myself.”
Meanwhile, on the third day of the conference Health
Secretary Jeremy Hunt promised 5,000 new training
places for nurses.
And International Development Secretary Priti Patel
unveiled new conditions on foreign aid spending that
are intended to prevent fatcats monopolising
contracts.

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