Her toughness on terrorism, child sexual abuse and immigration should auger well as she undertakes to lead the country after the Brexit vote ushers in a new era in the UK’s position in global politics and finance.
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The White House is pushing back on suggestions that her selection of Boris Johnson as foreign minister will be problematic for the U.S. Johnson had previously described Obama as a “part-Kenyan” who had an “ancestral dislike of the British empire”.
A large crowd gathered at the gates of the palace to watch the transition of power from one prime minister to his successor.
Sounding like more than one of the USA presidential candidates, May delivered a speech Monday under the slogan “A country that works for everyone, not just for the privileged few”.
He added: “We’ve now got the key players who will be involved in this decision-making process in place, and when the prime minister has finished making her appointments later today I am sure that we will sit down and start to talk about Britain’s negotiating strategy and how we are going to take it forward”.
The French government said it has no plans to change the treaty so far but Britain’s former ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts, has warned this position will not last for ever.
May, who had supported Britain’s continued European Union membership, appointed leading “Leave” campaigner Johnson to a senior cabinet post while moving quickly to heal divisions sparked by the referendum.
Prudently, May has indicated she will move slowly, waiting until early next year to formally trigger the withdrawal process.
European Parliament chief Martin Schulz is blasting the Cabinet picks of new British Prime Minister Theresa May as part of a “dangerously vicious cycle” that will hurt Britons in the long run.
May has put him in her top team despite Davis pursuing legal action in the European courts against surveillance laws she introduced.
“The British government should notify as soon as possible its intentions with the European Union under article 50”, he said referring to the as yet triggered process for Britain to leave the EU.
“We will work constructively with the newly elected British government in these hard times, as we have in the past”, Schulz said Thursday in a statement. That left May, a veteran cabinet minister and Euroskeptic who nevertheless favored the “remain” side, the last candidate standing.
She even called for “a proper industrial strategy”, a nostrum usually associated with the opposition Labour Party.
“London provides a crucial financial service”, he said. He said he was “very, very surprised” to have been offered the job of Foreign Secretary.
She has also fired Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who backed Gove’s short-lived leadership campaign.
The chancellor wants to retain strong links with Britain, Germany’s fifth-biggest trading partner for goods, but her bigger priority is to hold together the remaining European Union members.
May stressed her commitment to delivering Brexit but “explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. European leaders guided by EU principles may be unwilling to give Britain access to European markets without accepting the free movement of people.
The answer depends on tough, clear-headed negotiations and a search for compromise.
The former Foreign Secretary said he would be meeting with the Bank of England governor on Thursday and vowed “we will do whatever is necessary to keep the economy on track”.
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The transition from one prime minister to another happened swiftly.
