The Rt Hon Theresa May

Before Westminster

Theresa was born in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1956 but was raised largely in Oxfordshire, where her father served as a Church of England vicar.

Theresa had a varied education spanning both the state and private sectors, and both grammar and comprehensive schools. She read Geography at St Hugh's College, Oxford, where she was a member of the Conservative Association and the Oxford Union. It was at Oxford that Theresa met her husband Philip.

Theresa started her career at the Bank of England in the Economic Intelligence Department as an analyst at a time when the Bank was still focused on dealing with the fallout from the IMF crisis. She latterly moved to the Monetary Policy Department and was seconded to HM Treasury to work on the Wilson Committee report into the functioning of financial institutions. She went on to hold posts at the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) as Head of the European Affairs Unit and subsequently Senior Adviser on International Affairs, where she cemented her specialist knowledge of the banking sector.

Frontline Politics

Theresa was involved in politics from a young age, having started out volunteering to stuff envelopes at her local Conservative Association. She went on to be elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton aged 29, serving as Chairman of the Education Committee and then as Deputy Group Leader of the Conservative Group and Housing Spokesman.

She was elected to Parliament in 1997 for the new seat of Maidenhead and was appointed to the front bench a year later. She held several shadow cabinet portfolios, including education, transport, work and pensions, culture, media and sport, the environment, women, and local government. She also served for four years as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

In 2002, Theresa became the first female Chairman of the Conservative Party and began work on modernising its image and appeal. She memorably warned of the need for the party to change its approach, to “reach out to all areas of our society” - an agenda she continued to support under the leadership of David Cameron from 2005.

As Party Chairman, Theresa put in place new parliamentary selection processes to attract and welcome more female candidates and in 2005 she co-founded Women2Win, a campaign group to address the need for more female Conservative candidates and MPs. She remains their Patron to this day.

Home Secretary

Theresa was appointed as Secretary of State for the Home Department, one of the UK’s Great Offices of State, following the general election in May 2010. She went on to become the longest-serving Conservative Home Secretary for over a century. She also served as Minister for Women and Equalities.

As Home Secretary, Theresa was responsible for the safety and security of the UK, including policing, national security, borders and immigration. During her tenure, crime fell to its lowest level in over three decades.

In her time at the Home Office, Theresa gained substantial experience of crisis management at a national and international level, which included dealing with large-scale serious crime and counter-terrorism operations. She was also responsible for the safety and security of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Theresa introduced new reforms to enhance the operation and accountability of law enforcement and the intelligence services. She established the National Crime Agency and the College of Policing; commissioned the Winsor Review into police remuneration and conditions; implemented structural reforms to the Police Federation; and introduced Police and Crime Commissioners to replace Police Authorities.

Theresa also oversaw the introduction of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, a landmark piece of legislation that provided a new framework to govern the use and oversight of investigatory powers by security and intelligence agencies, ensuring these powers are fit for the digital age. The bill restored capabilities that had been effectively lost as a result of changes in the way people communicate.

It was while Home Secretary that Theresa cemented her work on addressing a range of social justice issues. She worked to ensure long held grievances were addressed, assuring the continued work of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, and established independent inquiries of examination such as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; the police inquiry to examine charges following the report of the Hillsborough Panel; and an inquiry into deaths in police custody.

Theresa also established a police code of conduct to ensure stop and search was undertaken lawfully, correcting the deep-rooted discrimination which saw people from black or ethnic minority backgrounds being seven times more likely to be stopped and searched.

During Theresa’s tenure as Home Secretary, the UK became the first country in the world to require large businesses to report on how they prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 marked a turning point in the fight against modern slavery - and the 2019 Measure, Action, Freedom (MAF) report by the Global Slavery Index named the UK as the most proactive country in the world in dealing with modern slavery. Theresa continued to promote the anti-slavery agenda as Prime Minister and still campaigns on the issue today.

Theresa oversaw a change in the landscape for victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse by introducing Clare’s Law (the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme) and Domestic Violence Protection Orders. A new offence to tackle controlling or coercive behaviour was also introduced as part of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

Theresa turned her focus to addressing wider issues of violence against women and girls and published the Government’s strategy in March 2016. The announcement included £80 million of dedicated funding to establish rape support centres and national helplines. As part of this agenda, Theresa introduced FGM Protection Orders and created new criminal offences to target the production of revenge pornography and forced marriage.

These and other issues of discrimination and disadvantage have been a central theme throughout Theresa’s career in frontline politics.

Prime Minister

Theresa became Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister in July 2016 after the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, in which the British people voted to leave the EU. As Prime Minister, she formally notified the EU of the UK’s intention to leave by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March 2017.

Given the small majority in Parliament and the challenging task of delivering Brexit, Theresa called a general election in 2017 in the hope of achieving a larger majority.

The election saw 13.6 million people vote Conservative. The party achieved 42.4% of the vote, up from 36.8% in 2015 - the highest vote share for 30 years. But despite winning the largest number of seats in the House of Commons, the result was not sufficient to deliver an outright majority. As a result, the Conservative Party negotiated a confidence and supply agreement, thus providing a working majority.

Having been returned to Downing Street, her government took forward negotiations with the European Union on the terms of the UK’s exit and future relationship. The EU Withdrawal Act was passed in 2018, but divisions on Europe in all major parties meant there was insufficient support in Parliament to pass the withdrawal agreement reached with the EU. Later, much of the content of the negotiations would become the basis of the eventual Withdrawal Agreement. In her approach to negotiations, Theresa held firm in her commitment to negotiating one set of terms covering all parts of the United Kingdom.

Negotiations with the EU were conducted following a protracted recovery from the deepest global economic and financial crisis in 100 years. Under Theresa’s leadership, the Government continued to restore the health of the public finances, which saw the deficit cut by more than £15 billion in real terms and the national debt reduced as a share of GDP. The Government’s prioritisation of the economy saw more people in employment than ever before and income taxes cut for 32 million people. During her time in office, Theresa also published a Modern Industrial Strategy to promote future job creation across the whole of the United Kingdom, beyond London and the South East.

By continuing to bring the public finances under control, Theresa was able to announce the largest ever cash boost to the National Health Service, worth over £20 billion. Her government also introduced the NHS Long Term Plan which included the largest expansion of mental health services in a generation. Theresa believes that changing the narrative on mental health is essential to dealing with its prevalence in society. Her government’s target was to see mental and physical health being given parity of esteem in the provision of NHS services. The Government introduced a maximum four week waiting time for young people seeking mental health support and a greater role was given to schools and teachers. The Government also commissioned a review of the Mental Health Act 1983.

In June 2017, 72 people died in the fire at Grenfell Tower, a tragedy unparalleled in recent history. Conscious of the Establishment's failure to properly investigate Hillsborough, Theresa established the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire on the night of 14th June. She also began a complementary programme of work to destigmatise social housing. The proposed legislation resulting from this work will improve fairness, quality and safety for social housing residents and ensure that their voices are never again ignored.

Theresa has always believed that government policy should be in the interests of creating a country that works for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity and background. This approach underpinned her famous ‘burning injustices’ speech on the steps of Downing Street on the day she became Prime Minister and would become a central tenet of her government.

Theresa is proud to have established the Government’s Race Disparity Unit which, for the first time ever, examined the treatment of people with different backgrounds across public services, in the workplace and the criminal justice system. The Government took a similar approach to gender inequality and subsequently introduced gender pay gap reporting for all larger UK companies.

During her premiership, Theresa continued her earlier work tackling domestic abuse. Her government wrote and introduced the Domestic Abuse Act, a landmark piece of legislation which sets out a clear definition of domestic abuse and places further duties on government and agencies to support victims.

Theresa’s premiership began in the wake of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 and she went on to commit the UK to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, making the UK the first major economy globally to set this legally binding goal. The theme of ‘clean growth’ was put at the heart of the Modern Industrial Strategy she introduced and a 25 year Environment Plan was established to tackle waste, improve biodiversity and enhance the nation's biosecurity.

The international political environment during Theresa’s period of office was characterised by a rise in economic protectionism and political polarisation. Theresa was and remains a strong advocate for multilateral co-operation and speaks regularly about the importance of reasserting a role for the rules-based international system, including through international fora such as the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations, G7, G20 and NATO. Theresa served as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office from April 2018 to July 2019 and hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, which brought a strong focus on international cooperation on economic growth, prosperity, trade and the environment. At this meeting the Commonwealth made a landmark decision to adopt a Blue Charter which will see a third of the world’s national coastal waters protected, helping to sustain livelihoods and ecosystems globally.

During her time in office, the UK continued to be a high-profile target for international and domestic terrorism. As Prime Minister, Theresa led the Government’s response to a number of high-profile security incidents, including the Westminster Bridge attack, Manchester Arena bombing, the London Bridge attack and Finsbury Square Mosque attack.

Twice as Prime Minister, Theresa co-ordinated the UK’s response to the use of chemical weapons. First, in March 2018 when the nerve agent Novichok was used on the streets of Salisbury. Shortly after the attack Theresa presented intelligence to the House of Commons that pointed to Russian state culpability - and led a co-ordinated response from 28 international partners to secure the largest ever collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers around the world.

In April of the same year, after exhausting diplomatic channels, Theresa authorised the UK’s armed forces to intervene in Syria following the Douma chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime. The UK conducted targeted air strikes alongside French and American allies against the regime’s chemical weapons facilities. Theresa has always been clear that the use of chemical weapons, at home or abroad, cannot be tolerated by the international community.

Throughout her premiership, Theresa sought to promote the unique strengths of Global Britain around the world, particularly in the wake of the UK's referendum on membership of the EU in 2016. She was clear in the distinction that Britain was leaving the EU, but not Europe - and would not respond to Brexit by withdrawing from the world stage. 

Theresa has always believed that Britain can only be strong abroad if we are united at home. That’s why she is passionate about preserving and strengthening the Union of the United Kingdom. During her tenure she launched the Dunlop review into UK Government Union capability to review how existing institutional arrangements meet the challenge of strengthening and sustaining the Union in the future.

Theresa announced her intention to resign as Conservative Party leader in May 2019 and served as Prime Minister until 24th July 2019.

After Downing Street

On her departure as Prime Minister, Theresa was clear that it remained her intention to continue to be an active participant in public life and to continue to serve the national interest in whatever form that may take.

In her final appearance at the despatch box as Prime Minister, Theresa said that her sense of duty as a Member of Parliament continues to be her greatest motivation. After leaving office she was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for the seat of Maidenhead, a position she held until 2024.

Theresa speaks regularly in the UK and around the world on a range of local, national and international issues. She takes a particular interest in matters concerning the global economy and trade, international relations, UK foreign policy, national security, the environment and the Union of the United Kingdom. She also speaks regularly about the eradication of modern slavery, domestic abuse and the social injustices she has helped address throughout her political career.

Theresa works with over 20 charitable and voluntary organisations, including JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity; the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society; Alexander Devine, the children's hospice service; the Aldersgate Group, a business organisation which champions environmental sustainability; the Anti-Slavery Collective and a range of other organisations, including those supporting action on domestic abuse and mental health issues.

Theresa continues to live in Sonning with her husband, Sir Philip May. Her favourite pastimes include cooking, reading and walking; particularly walking in the mountains of Wales and Switzerland.