Theresa May

Theresa Mary, Lady May (/təˈriːzə/;[1] née Brasier; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabinet as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016, and has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead in Berkshire since 1997. May was the UK's second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher, and the first woman to hold two of the Great Offices of State. Ideologically, May identifies herself as a one-nation conservative.[2]

Quick facts: The Right HonourableLady MayMP, Prime Ministe... ▼

The Right Honourable Lady May MP
Official portrait, 2016
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 13 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Monarch	Elizabeth II
First Secretary	Damian Green (2017)
Preceded by	David Cameron
Succeeded by	Boris Johnson
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 11 July 2016 – 23 July 2019[nb]
Preceded by	David Cameron
Succeeded by	Boris Johnson
Home Secretary
In office 12 May 2010 – 13 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Alan Johnson
Succeeded by	Amber Rudd
Minister for Women and Equalities
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Harriet Harman
Succeeded by	Maria Miller
Chair of the Conservative Party
In office 23 July 2002 – 6 November 2003
Leader	Iain Duncan Smith
Preceded by	David Davis
Succeeded by	Liam Fox The Lord Saatchi
Member of Parliament for Maidenhead
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency established
Majority	18,846 (33.3%)
Shadow cabinet portfolios
1999–2001	Women
1999–2001	Education and Employment
2001–2002	Transport, Local Government and the Regions
2003–2004	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2004–2005	Family
2005	Culture, Media and Sport
2005–2009	Leader of the House of Commons
2007–2010	Women and Equality
2009–2010	Work and Pensions
Personal details
Born	Theresa Mary Brasier (1956-10-01) 1 October 1956 (age 67) Eastbourne, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Sir Philip May ​ (m. 1980)​
Residence	Sonning, Berkshire
Education	Wheatley Park School
Alma mater	St Hugh's College, Oxford (BA)
Signature
Website	Official website
Theresa May's voice May's speech after the 2017 general election Recorded 9 June 2017
n.b. ^ Acting: 7 June – 23 July 2019

This article is part of a series about Theresa May
Political positions Electoral history MP for Maidenhead One-nation conservatism Home Secretary Home Office under Theresa May Hostile Environment Policy National Crime Agency Operation Yewtree Snooper's Charter 2016 leadership election Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership International trips First ministry and term First ministry (majority) Brexit Invocation of Article 50 Aftermath of Brexit 2017 local elections 2017 general election Second ministry and term Second ministry (minority) Conservative–DUP agreement List of departures 2018 reshuffle Chequers Agreement Grenfell Tower fire Running through fields of wheat "Strong and stable" "Brexit means Brexit" Salisbury poisonings EU Withdrawal Agreement House of Commons vote of confidence 2019 leadership election Resignation Honours
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May grew up in Oxfordshire and attended St Hugh's College, Oxford. After graduating in 1977, she worked at the Bank of England and the Association for Payment Clearing Services. She also served as a councillor for Durnsford in Merton. After two unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead at the 1997 general election. From 1999 to 2010, May held several roles in shadow cabinets. She was Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003.

Following the formation of the coalition government after the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative success in the 2015 general election, she became the longest-serving Home Secretary in over 60 years. During her tenure she pursued reform of the Police Federation, implemented a harder line on drugs policy including banning khat and brought in further restrictions on immigration. She oversaw the introduction of elected police and crime commissioners, the deportation of Abu Qatada and the creation of the College of Policing and the National Crime Agency.[3]

May supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union (EU). She stood in the Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Cameron, who resigned on the outcome of the 2016 referendum; she was elected and appointed Prime Minister after Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the contest. She began the process of withdrawing the UK from the EU, triggering Article 50 in March 2017. In April she announced a snap general election, with the aims of strengthening her hand in Brexit negotiations and highlighting her "strong and stable" leadership.[4][5] This resulted in a hung parliament with the number of Conservative seats reduced to 317 (from 330), despite the highest vote share since 1983 and the largest increase in electoral support enjoyed by a governing party since 1832.[6] The loss of an overall majority prompted her to enter a confidence and supply arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland to support a minority government.

Following the 2017 election, May's premiership continued to be dominated by Brexit, in particular by her government's negotiations with the EU, adhering to the Chequers plan, which led to a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. May survived two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were rejected by Parliament three times and her party's poor performance in the local and European elections in May 2019, she announced her resignation later that month. She left office on 24 July and was succeeded by Boris Johnson, her former foreign secretary. May remains in the House of Commons as a backbencher.

Other events that occurred during May's premiership included terrorist attacks in Westminster, the Manchester Arena and London Bridge, the Grenfell Tower fire and the Windrush scandal. Her government also announced a £20 billion increase in funding to the National Health Service, established the first Race Disparity Audit, presided over the lowest unemployment rate since 1975,[7] launched a 25 Year Environment Plan,[8] amending the Climate Change Act 2008 to end the UK's contribution to global warming by 2050, passed legislation cracking down on knife crime and giving extra powers to law enforcement and intelligence services to combat terrorism, published the 2017 Industrial Strategy White Paper[9] and signed an immigration treaty with France to stem illegal border crossings in January 2018.[10] Although May did not succeed in getting much of her Brexit legislation through Parliament, her government was nevertheless responsible for passing the Great Repeal Act 2018 and for negotiating and approving the near-entirety of the UK's terms of exit from the EU.[11] As Prime Minister, May was also a prominent figure in leading the international condemnation and response to Russia over the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March 2018.