Theresa May hits back at critics and vows to stay on as Prime Minister after Brexit
3 min read
Theresa May has said that she wants to carry on as Prime Minister after Britain quits the EU - as she brushed off an apparent jibe from Boris Johnson.
In a message to Tory critics who want to oust her from Downing Street next spring, the embattled Tory leader insisted she was in the top job for the "long-term - not just for the Brexit deal".
Mrs May is under mounting pressure from her own party over a Brexit plan which eurosceptics fear will leave the UK too closely tied to Brussels.
Discussion about her leadership has dominated Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, with Boris Johnson set to make a major intervention on the future of the Tories today in what will be seen as his own pitch for the top job.
Asked how long she intended to stay on as Prime Minister, Mrs May told the Today programme: "I've said I'm in this for the long-term - not just for the Brexit deal but actually the domestic agenda that we're setting out at this conference."
The assertion came after Mr Johnson - who quit the Cabinet over Mrs May's Chequers plan - was pictured running through a field of wheat, in an apparent dig at the Prime Minister's past comments about the naughtiest thing she has ever done.
But she refused to be drawn on the ex-Foreign Secretary's latest move, instead saying she was "getting on with the job".
She said: "You know, at this conference what I feel is that I and this government and this party are getting on with the important job of working on getting a good deal for the United Kingdom when we leave the European Union... but also working on the opportunities that there will be for this country and for people in this country when we leave the European Union.
The PM added: "That's what I'm focusing on, that's what I'm dealing with."
MIGRATION OVERHAUL
Mrs May's defiant message to her party came as she unveiled plans for Britain's post-Brexit migration system.
The shake-up will end free movement of people from the EU and seek to sharply reduce low-skilled migration after Britain leaves the bloc.
The Prime Minister promised that the new system would mean Britain's immigration system was no longer based on "where somebody comes from, but on the contribution they will make to our economy."
But she hinted that an easing of rules on EU workers could still be up for grabs in a future trade deal with Brussels.
Mrs May told Today: "In any trade deal that countries do there are normally parts of that which are about things like movement of business people and so forth.
"But once again, if we have any of those elements in a deal we do with the European Union they won't be any different... those elements will be open for us for trade deals with others as well."
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