Theresa May, 59, will take over the United Kingdom’s role of Prime Minister from David Cameron by Wednesday, British media reported Monday.
May, who will be the first woman to lead the U.K. since Margaret Thatcher, is a Conservative MP and has been Home Secretary since 2010. Her main challenger, Andrea Leadsom, pulled out after realizing support for her competitor was much stronger. May received 60 percent of the vote from Conservative MPs. Despite her anti-Brexit position, she’s said that the U.K. will continue its split from the E.U. under her leadership.
“First, the need for strong, proven leadership to steer us through what will be difficult and uncertain economic and political times, the need, of course, to negotiate the best deal for Britain in leaving the EU, and to forge a new role for ourselves in the world,” she said in a statement on Monday. “Brexit means Brexit, and we are going to make a success of it.”
The new PM has a contentious record on human rights. For a member of the Conservative party, May has been quite progressive on a number of issues. She’s fought against police corruption and for an inquiry into institutional child abuse — an issue often passed over by others in Downing Street. She’s also challenged the British police’s use of “stop-and-search,” which often involves racial profiling and is conducted illegally.
Europe’s Most Powerful Leader Is Trying To Hit The Brakes On BrexitWorld CREDIT: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber German Chancellor Angela Merkel broke said she sees no reason to speed up…thinkprogress.orgProgressive policies have gained May support among moderates and modernizers, but many feel uncomfortable with her immigration policy. The Irish Times described various policy proposals she’s put forward on immigration as “draconian enough to be overruled by cabinet colleagues.”
“I’ve struggled with this, frankly,” one modernizing MP told the Guardian after deciding to back May. “Her views on stop-and-search, on same-sex marriage, and forced slavery — it just doesn’t square with this.”
May wants to reduce net migration to the UK from 330,000 to the tens of thousands and wants to bar British citizens from bringing in their foreign born spouses or children unless they meet certain financial requirements — regardless of how much the foreign spouse earns.
“When immigration is too high, when the pace of change is too fast, it’s impossible to build a cohesive society,” she said in a 2015 speech.
She also voted in May to repeal the Human Rights Act. She reasoned that it limits the power of government, according to the Independent.
Other issues May is criticized for includes supporting the war in Iraq and voting for the deployment of British troops to Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria.
But her views on immigration are the most concerning for many in Britain who value a multi-cultural society. “In a certain sense, then, this makes May the right person for a post-Brexit Britain,” Vox reported.