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Theresa May: Full speech of Prime Minister’s resignation notice

Published

6 years ago

May 24, 2019

Eric

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Friday disclosed that she would step down from office on June 7.

May made the disclosure at Down Street in the United Kingdom, UK, in which she noted that the job of Prime Minister had been the “honour of her life to hold.”

A leadership contest to decide who will replace her as Prime Minister will start on June 10, and a new leader is expected to take over by the end of July.

Here is Theresa May’s resignation speech in full:

“Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone.

“And to honour the result of the EU referendum. Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union.

“I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide.I have done my best to do that.

“I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbours that protects jobs, our security and our Union. I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal.

“Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new Prime Minister to lead that effort.

“So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen. I have agreed with the Party Chairman and with the Chairman of the 1922 Committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week.

“I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions, and I will continue to serve as her Prime Minister until the process has concluded. It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.

“It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise.

“For many years the great humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton – who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport – was my constituent in Maidenhead. At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice.

“He said, ‘Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise,’ He was right.

“As we strive to find the compromises we need in our politics – whether to deliver Brexit, or to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland – we must remember what brought us here.

“Because the referendum was not just a call to leave the EU but for profound change in our country. A call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years.

“We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started: the deficit is almost eliminated, our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity.

“My focus has been on ensuring that the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and the South East, through our Modern Industrial Strategy.

“We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job. We are building more homes and helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder – so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did. And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change and improving air quality.

“This is what a decent, moderate and patriotic Conservative Government, on the common ground of British politics, can achieve – even as we tackle the biggest peacetime challenge any government has faced.

“I know that the Conservative Party can renew itself in the years ahead. That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our values. Security; freedom; opportunity. Those values have guided me throughout my career.

“But the unique privilege of this office is to use this platform to give a voice to the voiceless, to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society. That is why I put proper funding for mental health at the heart of our NHS long-term plan. It is why I am ending the postcode lottery for survivors of domestic abuse. It is why the Race Disparity Audit and gender pay reporting are shining a light on inequality, so it has nowhere to hide.

“And that is why I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth, so nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.

“Because this country is a Union. Not just a family of four nations. But a union of people – all of us. Whatever our background, the colour of our skin, or who we love. We stand together. And together we have a great future.

“Our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.

“I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold – the second female Prime Minister but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill-will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”

News

Ex-Polaris Bank Chief Remanded in Prison Custody for Alleged Fraud

Published

5 days ago

November 19, 2024

Eric

The Special Offences Court sitting in the Ikeja area of Lagos State, on Monday, remanded a former branch manager of Polaris Bank, Abiodun Sanni, at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre for alleged multi-million naira fraud.

Sanni was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 16-count charge bordering on obtaining credit by false pretences, forgery, use of false documents, and stealing.

The EFCC counsel, Orhieoghene Adewunmi, told the court that Sanni committed the offences at the Iju branch of the bank in Lagos on February 24, 2020.

The lawyer stated that the defendant, as the branch manager of Polaris Bank, obtained from the bank a credit sum of N17 million in form of a loan.

He said Sanni collected the loan on the pretext that the loan had collateral in the form of a fixed deposit worth N111.1 million, which belonged to one Yinkus Multi-biz Ventures.

The EFCC lawyer also alleged that the former bank manager dishonestly converted a Polaris Bank fixed deposit account worth N15.1 million, belonging to one Joshua Atolagbe, to his personal use.

According to Adewunmi, the alleged offences contravene Sections 36(1), 278(1), 313(1)(a), 361 (1) and 364 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Sanni, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts preferred against him.

Adewunmi urged the court to remand the defendant.

“My lord the prosecution intends to call 10 witnesses in this case. We urge the court to remand the defendant in custody in view of his not-guilty plea,” the EFCC lawyer said.

The defence counsel, Osho Oludoshu, told the court that he had filed a bail application.

The presiding judge, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe, thereafter, remanded Sanni at the custodial centre.

Justice Abike-Fadipe adjourned the case to March 6, 2025, for the commencement of trial.

News

INEC Declares APC’s Aiyedatiwa Winner of Ondo Guber Election

Published

7 days ago

November 17, 2024

Eric

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.

The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.

Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.

“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.

The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.

The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.

News

PDP Chieftain Sues IGP Egbetokun over Police Invasion of Home

Published

1 week ago

November 16, 2024

Eric

A former National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Diran Odeyemi has filed a fundamental rights suit against the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

Also joined in the suit is the Osun State Commissioner of Police.

The suit dated November 7, 2024, was filed before a Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

In an affidavit in support of originating summons, Odeyemi accused armed agents of the defendants of invading his residence at Ibadan on October 26, without prior notice.

The plaintiff said the invasion of his residence and attempt to unlawfully arrest him was part of plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to silence leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State.

Odeyemi alleged that the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje on 20th of October, 2024, declared in Akure, Ondo State capital that the party had a secret strategy to recapture Osun State for APC, adding that what played out at his residence was part of the broader plans of the APC.

The plaintiff asked the court to determine where the attempt and threat by the defendants and their agents to arrest him on wilful investigation of some stalwarts of the APC do not constitute an infringement of his fundamental rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, expression and association.

The ground of the originating summons includes, “The plaintiff by virtue of sections 35, 39, 40, 41 and 46 under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights is entitled to enjoy his rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of expression and freedom of association.

‘The Plaintiff, being a citizen of Nigeria, has the right to move freely without any inhibition, express his thoughts, associate freely, and enjoy his dignity without being harassed, intimidated,d, or hindered in any way or manner.

“The Defendants and their officers are rigorously attempting to violate the plaintiff’s fundamental rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement freedom of expression, and freedom of association by threatening and planning to intimidate, harass, molest, and unlawfully arrest and detain him on wilful instigation of some politicians within the All Progressives Congress who are hellbent on framing the Plaintiff in order to silence him, as part of the All Progressives Congress secret strategy to recapture Osun State and wrestle power from the Peoples Democratic Party in the State., come 2026.

“The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress boastfully stated in Akure on the 20th October 2024 that the APC had a secret strategy to recapture Osun State from the Peoples Democratic Party but that he would not reveal the secret and his threatening statement was widely reported in the media.

“In what appears like the commencement of the secret political machinations, the agents of the Defendants, at the instance of some APC politicians and without having ever invited the Plaintiff, invaded the Plaintiff’s home on the 26th day of October 2024 in an attempt to unlawfully arrest, detain, harass and intimidate the Plaintiff but they failed because the Plaintiff was not in the country”