Theresa May’s attempt to offer voters a “British dream” turned into a nightmare as her biggest speech since the botched election was plagued by mishaps and interruptions.
The Prime Minister pledged a £2 billion boost to council home building and promised a new law to cap energy prices, as part of a drive to help voters who feel they have been “left behind” by an unbalanced economy.
But her address to the Conservative conference in Manchester was undermined by a catalogue of calamities, as she:
:: Was confronted by a stage invader wielding a P45 redundancy notice;
:: Struggled with a persistent cough which repeatedly left her croaking and needing to swig water to be able to carry on;
:: Saw letters fall off the slogan “Building a country that works for everyone” on the backdrop behind her lectern.
Her announcement of draft legislation for a cap on standard variable gas and electricity tariffs left shares in energy companies tumbling on the markets.
She told the conference the energy market was “broken” and that those being “punished” by higher prices were the most loyal customers, often the poor, elderly and less-educated and those in rented homes.
“While we are in favour of free markets, we will always take action to fix them when they are broken,” she said.
“We will always take on monopolies and vested interests when they are holding people back.”
Regulator Ofgem, which has been drawing up its own plans to limit price rises for vulnerable households, welcomed the move and said it was ready to work with Government on plans to “better protect consumers on poor-value deals”.
Number 10 indicated that the cap may not have to be enshrined in law if Ofgem was able to achieve the same outcome in a speedier way.
Boris Johnson hailed her performance on Twitter as a “great job … putting housing at the heart of renewing the British dream”.
But the Foreign Secretary, who has been accused of undermining the PM by setting out his personal red lines on Brexit, did not merit a mention in her speech.
She instead singled out for praise Scottish leader Ruth Davidson, often tipped as a potential rival for Mr Johnson in the race to succeed her.
(PA Graphics)
Drawing more deeply than usual on the personal experiences behind her politics, Mrs May held up her grandmother as an example of the “British dream” that each generation will enjoy a more prosperous life than their parents.
The domestic servant who made sacrifices for a better future for her family counted among her grandchildren three professors and a prime minister, said Mrs May.
“I will dedicate my premiership to fixing this problem, to restoring hope, to renewing the British dream for a new generation of people,” she vowed.
(PA Graphics)
After a week in which Labour’s poll lead cast a shadow over the Tory gathering, Mrs May took aim at Jeremy Corbyn for wanting to increase borrowing and remove the nuclear deterrent and for letting “anti-Semitism, misogyny and hatred run free”.
And she borrowed the chant of “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” which echoed round Brighton last week to mock the Labour leader by telling the conference: “No Jeremy Corbyn.”