British Prime Minister sets people at ease: Nobody has to leave the country

On the last day of the annually organised congress of the ruling Conservative Party in Manchester, Theresa May asked the foreign EU citizens, living and working in Great Britain, to stay in the country after its withdrawal from the European Union. In her speech, disturbed by a minor security incident, the British Prime Minister apologised for the surprisingly poor conservative results at the summer parliamentary elections.

Vg.hu announces that Theresa May in her 1-hour long speech, interrupted by fits of coughing on many occasions, stated that Great Britain is surely going to withdraw from the European Union in March 2019. She expressed her hope about reaching an agreement that serves the interests of both Great Britain and the EU during the negotiations about the conditions of withdrawal. According to the Prime Minister, it is the interest of everyone concerned in the affair to bring the negotiation to success. The government acts in the most responsible way, if “it prepares for all the possibilities and I assure everyone that this is what we do” declared May.

On the previous day of the Conservative Party’s congress, David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, made an explicit allusion to the fact that London also considers the potential inefficiency of the Brexit negotiations among the possibilities.

In his speech, Davis revealed that he hopes to reach a satisfying agreement with the Union about the EU-withdrawal conditions of the country. Furthermore, he added that if the talks did not reach an agreement that satisfies Great Britain, then London would also be ready to an “alternative”, and in that case, the government would prepare a contingency plan.

In her Wednesday congress speech, Theresa May asserted that

she is aware of the insecurity and the nervousness of foreign EU citizens caused by the process of withdrawal.

As she put it into words “ it cannot be emphasized enough that you (EU citizens) contributed to the way of life of our country and we welcome you with pleasure.”

She demanded from the delegations dealing with the withdrawal negotiations to reach an agreement as soon as possible because London wants the foreign citizens to stay in Great Britain.

Moreover, she apologised for the weak conservative results in the summer parliamentary elections and explained that it was her who directed the campaign of the preliminary elections in June. Unfortunately, the campaign did not achieve its original goal. Nevertheless, she takes all the responsibility for it.

The preliminary elections in Great Britain were held on 8 June with the intention of securing the mandate of her government to carry out negotiation talks about the conditions of withdrawal. However, the Conservative Party lost its insignificant majority in the House of Commons and since then, in case it is needed, it governs with the help of the biggest protestant power, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland.

According to Theresa May, the cause of the problem resulting in the weak performance at the election, was that the “British Dream”, more precisely the aim that every generation should live better than the previous ones, was considered to be distant and out of reach for many.

The British PM set out the objective of reviving the “British Dream” and as the 1st step of it,

she announced to start a monumental social house building programme.

She further added that next year, the British government plans to set up an upper limit to the increase of household energy bills.

At the same time, she emphasized that the sustenance of the open economic market model stays the major aim of the Conservative Party. In fact, this is the instrument of increasing the standard of living and it secures the international peace grounded on rules that contributed to the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, helped the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall and put an end to “the dark days behind the Iron Curtain.”

“The open market and the values sustained by it – freedom, equality, constitutionality – rest the major motive of humanity’s collective progress” commented May.

During her speech, a humourist named Simon Brodkin, approached her and handed her a standard form that was designed for the annulment of employment. The man said to the interrupted Prime Minister that the seemingly fake form was sent by Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary.

Johnson is often accused of struggling for the overthrow of Theresa May and he has his own ministerial ambitions, as well. May took the form, then put it down while Brodkin was taken out of the room by the security guard.
Theresa May, celebrated in ovation by the crowd, said that she would prefer to send the form to Jeremy Corby, the leader of the opposition Labour Party. Brodkin is infamous for his similar performances. For example, he was the man who, 2 years ago at the peak of the FIFA scandal, at a conference in Zurich, dissipated dollar banknotes to Sepp Blatter, the president of the FIFA.

translated by Lilla Mezei

Photo: MTI/EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga

Source: vg.hu