END OF THE MAYBOT
Theresa May dances on stage at Tory conference before plea for divided Tory party to unite behind her Brexit plan
THERESA May today danced onto the stage to deliver her make or break speech in a bid to unite the country and her bitterly divided party.
The PM poked fun at her Maybot image as she got her groove on to Abba's Dancing Queen before appealing to the party to get behind her.
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And in a blast at Boris Johnson, Mrs May warned that anyone obsessed with getting "the perfect Brexit" risk leaving us tied to the EU forever.
She also took a pop at the top Brexiteer over his "f**k business" jibe - vowing to "back business" instead.
In the hour-long address, the PM:
- Repeatedly blasted Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism and his hard-left economic polices – saying Tories have a “duty” to keep him out of power
- Announced the end of austerity, vowing that spending on public services will rise
- Suggested she'll continue in her job for years to come
- Announced a new NHS cancer strategy, after revealing her goddaughter died last year from the disease
- Scrapped the cap on how much councils can borrow in order to see more homes built
- Failed to mention the word “Chequers” once after criticism of her EU exit plan
Her speech was aimed at providing an upbeat vision for Britain post-Brexit - and after eight years of austerity.
She admitted that the public needed to see that "their hard work has paid off" after struggling with cuts to public services in a bid to balance the country's books.
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But in a blow to MPs who want to see her gone, Mrs May insisted she has a plan for the next year and beyond.
The address received a massive standing ovation from activists, as husband Philip walked on stage and kissed her while ELO's Mr Blue Sky played over the PR.
In her speech in Birmingham, the PM gave a spirited defence of her Chequers plan which has divided MPs and activists.
She said: “We will not betray the result of the referendum, and we will never break up our country.
“I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same.”
The PM added that her plan would respect the referendum while minimising the economic dangers.
She said: “It delivers on the referendum. It keeps fair with the British people. It is in the national interest.”
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Hitting out at hard Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, the PM added: "Those of us who do respect the result, whichever side of the question we stood on two years ago, need to come together now.
"If we don't - if we all go off in different directions in pursuit of our own visions of the perfect Brexit - we risk ending up with no Brexit at all."
In a second dig at Boris - who has overshadowed the conference by making his own alternative leadership pitch - Mrs May said Tories shouldn't be saying "f**k business" as he did earlier this year.
She said: "To all business - large and small - you may have heard that there is a four-letter word to describe what we Conservatives want to do to you.
"It has a single syllable. It is of Anglo Saxon derivation. It ends in the letter K. Back business!"
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Mrs May vowed to bring an end to austerity after a decade-long financial squeeze, telling hard-pressed voters: “The end is in sight.”
Praising the fall in the deficit, she added: “This is a historic achievement - but getting to this turning point wasn’t easy.
“Public sector workers had their wages frozen, local services had to do more with less, and families felt the squeeze.
“Fixing our finance was necessary - there must be no return to the uncontrolled borrowing the past, no undoing all of the progress of the last eight years, no taking Britain back to square one.
“But the British people need to know that the end is in sight. And our message to them must be this - we get it.”
The PM revealed the Government will turn on the spending taps again next year once they've finished the job of cutting a Brexit deal with Brussels.
And she delivered a love letter to Britain, listing the country's achievements and adding: "Don't let anyone tell you we don't have what it takes."
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Mrs May also launched a blistering attack on Jeremy Corbyn - warning that Tories have a “duty” to keep him out of power.
The PM said the Labour boss was making Jewish Brits feel unsafe in their own country and claimed the party has lost its moral backbone.
Mrs May said: “The Jeremy Corbyn party rejects the common values that once bridged our political divide.”
She added: "What has befallen Labour is a national tragedy."
She went on: "What has it come to when Jewish families today seriously discuss where they should go if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister?
"That is what Jeremy Corbyn has done to the Labour party. It is our duty, in this Conservative party, to make sure he can never do it to our country."
PM's string of jokes about dodgy dancing and last year's disaster
THERESA May tried to overcome last year's disastrous conference speech by making a string of jokes about it.
After she came on shimmying to Abba's Dancing Queen - mocking her cringey dance moves form a recent trip to Africa, she joked that some could even have been "inspired to become professional dancers" after seeing her moves.
12 months ago Mrs May was forced to stop several times during her crunch speech while she tried to clear her throat.
But she laughed it off today, telling the audience: "You'll have to excuse me if I cough during this speech."
The PM has been suffering with a sniffle for the last few days, sparking fears of another spluttering disaster.
And she quipped on the backdrop which came down last year as she was talking, saying: "I've been up all night super-gluing the backdrop."
Mrs May also made a stinging joke about her ex-Cabinet colleague Boris Johnson, who gave a barn-storming speech to activists yesterday.
A few months ago he caused uproar by reportedly uttering the words "f**k business".
But lashing back, Mrs May said today: "And to all business - large and small - you may have heard that there is a four-letter word to describe what we Conservatives want to do to you.
"It has a single syllable. It is of Anglo Saxon derivation. It ends in the letter K. Back business."
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Theresa May launches an attack on Jeremy Corbyn and says Jewish families consider leaving the country if he becomes a Prime Minister
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After talking about her Housing Secretary James Brokenshire’s treatment and recovery from cancer, the PM revealed her own goddaughter died from the disease last year.
She said: “Cancer can strike any of us at any time.
“A few years ago my goddaughter was diagnosed with cancer.
“She underwent treatment and it seemed to be working, then the cancer came back.
“Last summer she sent me a text to tell me she was hoping to see another Christmas. But she didn’t make it.”
Senior Tories hailed the PM’s speech - comparing it favourably to last year’s total meltdown.
Jeremy Hunt said: “Congratulations Theresa May for a remarkable speech delivered with humour and passion.
“Firmness of purpose, clarity and conviction - EU friends do not underestimate!”
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And Downing Street chief of staff Gavin Barwell quipped on Twitter: “Waited 12 months for that #outthepark”.
But Labour dismissed her speech as empty rhetoric - shadow minister Andrew Gwynne said: "Try telling local government across England there’s an end to austerity... deep cuts to our public services are continuing and they have Theresa May’s fingerprints all over them!"
And Lib Dem boss Vince Cable joked: “As somebody who takes dancing seriously, I was delighted to see Theresa May show that she is developing her new hobby. But she was dancing on the head of a pin, confronted by an audience full of people plotting to oust her."
PM stands up for Labour's Diane Abbott for being attacked by trolls
THERESA May today spoke out against extremists who have brought a nasty strain of abuse to politics - and defended Labour’s Diane Abbott because she’s constantly attacked by trolls.
The PM said during her conference speech: “Something’s changed for the worse. Rigorous debate between political opponents is becoming more like a confrontation between enemies.
“People who put themselves forward are becoming targets, their families as well.
“We all saw the sickening pictures of a far-left extremist shouting abuse at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s children.
“And it’s not only Conservatives who are facing abuse; the first black woman ever to be elected to the House of Commons receives more racist and misogynist messages today than when she first stood over 30 years ago.
“You don’t have to agree with a word Diane Abbott says to believe passionately in her right to say it free from threats and abuse.”
Ms Abbott, the Shadow Home Secretary, welcomed her "nice words" but lashed out at the Tories for deliberately targeting her with their adverts during last year's election.
She tweeted: "Some nice words from Tory leaders like Theresa May and Sajid Javid. Makes you wonder who was responsible for the Tory party’s relentless personal attacks in the general election campaign 2017."
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