This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37556019
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Theresa May: Tories must embrace 'new centre ground' | Theresa May: Tories must embrace 'new centre ground' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Theresa May has urged a "new approach" to politics where the government is a "force for good" as she closed the Conservative conference. | |
| The PM called on her party to "embrace a new centre ground... built on the values of fairness and opportunity". | |
| She promised to use the power of government to help "ordinary working-class people". | |
| The government should protect jobs and "repair" free markets when they do not work properly, she said. | |
| And she promised working people will no longer be ignored by the "powerful and the privileged". | |
| She also attacked pundits and MPs who find patriotism "distasteful" and who call immigration fears "parochial". | |
| BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said in endorsing an activist state, Mrs May would be making a "bold bid for disaffected Labour supporters". | BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said in endorsing an activist state, Mrs May would be making a "bold bid for disaffected Labour supporters". |
| But she said the prime minister would ultimately be judged on her actions - in areas like education and health - in terms of whether people would "buy into her vision". | But she said the prime minister would ultimately be judged on her actions - in areas like education and health - in terms of whether people would "buy into her vision". |
| While previous Tory leaders have sought to reduce state intervention, Mrs May said her government would take action to identify injustice, find solutions and drive change. | |
| The PM said Labour does not have "a monopoly on compassion" and is set to criticise the party's "sanctimonious pretence of moral superiority". | |
| "Let's make clear that they have given up the right to call themselves the party of the NHS, the party of the workers, the party of public servants," she will say, pointing to her party's plans for immigration, housing and workers' rights. | "Let's make clear that they have given up the right to call themselves the party of the NHS, the party of the workers, the party of public servants," she will say, pointing to her party's plans for immigration, housing and workers' rights. |
| "I want to set our party and our country on the path towards the new centre ground of British politics - built on the values of fairness and opportunity - where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be." | "I want to set our party and our country on the path towards the new centre ground of British politics - built on the values of fairness and opportunity - where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be." |
| Making a pitch for the Tories to be the party of "ordinary working-class people", she said: "Just listen to the way a lot of politicians and commentators talk about the public. | |
| "They find their patriotism distasteful, their concerns about immigration parochial, their views about crime illiberal, their attachment to their job security inconvenient. | "They find their patriotism distasteful, their concerns about immigration parochial, their views about crime illiberal, their attachment to their job security inconvenient. |
| "They find the fact that more than 17m people voted to leave the European Union simply bewildering." | "They find the fact that more than 17m people voted to leave the European Union simply bewildering." |
| Dismissing the labels of the "socialist left and the libertarian right", she told Tory supporters: "It's time to remember the good that government can do. | |
| "Time for a new approach that says while government does not have all the answers, government can and should be a force for good; that the state exists to provide what individual people, communities and markets cannot; and that we should employ the power of government for the good of the people. | "Time for a new approach that says while government does not have all the answers, government can and should be a force for good; that the state exists to provide what individual people, communities and markets cannot; and that we should employ the power of government for the good of the people. |
| Brexit questions | Brexit questions |
| "Time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right and to embrace a new centre ground in which government steps up - and not back - to act on behalf of the people." | "Time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right and to embrace a new centre ground in which government steps up - and not back - to act on behalf of the people." |
| The closing speech in Birmingham is Mrs May's second conference address, after she spoke about Brexit on day one. | The closing speech in Birmingham is Mrs May's second conference address, after she spoke about Brexit on day one. |
| The UK's exit from the EU has loomed large over the four-day conference, which began with Mrs May confirming the timing of the UK's formal Brexit trigger, which will happen before March 2017. | The UK's exit from the EU has loomed large over the four-day conference, which began with Mrs May confirming the timing of the UK's formal Brexit trigger, which will happen before March 2017. |
| On Tuesday she faced questions about the falling pound and reduced growth forecasts, promising to make the Brexit process as "smooth as possible", but acknowledging there would be "bumps in the road". | On Tuesday she faced questions about the falling pound and reduced growth forecasts, promising to make the Brexit process as "smooth as possible", but acknowledging there would be "bumps in the road". |
| Speaking before the prime minister, Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon "does not speak for Scotland" by raising the prospect of a second independence referendum in the wake of the Brexit vote. | Speaking before the prime minister, Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon "does not speak for Scotland" by raising the prospect of a second independence referendum in the wake of the Brexit vote. |
| Ms Davidson told Conservative members that the majority of Scots want to "move on" from the debate about leaving the UK, and will urge them to dismiss the view that independence is now "inevitable". | Ms Davidson told Conservative members that the majority of Scots want to "move on" from the debate about leaving the UK, and will urge them to dismiss the view that independence is now "inevitable". |