Theresa May in Wolverhampton: Brexit back at the heart of campaign - PICTURES and VIDEO
"Everything depends on Brexit."
That was the message from the Prime Minister yesterday, in a major speech in Wolverhampton
Theresa May told party supporters that the future of the country's economy, NHS, and other public services depended on making Brexit a 'success'.
She hit out at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying he doesn’t have 'the belief, the will or the plan to deliver Brexit'.
Addressing the gathering at the old Low Level railway station, she said: "Because the terms of the Brexit deal we negotiate with the EU, and the course we begin to chart in the years after it, truly will define our country for generations to come.
"Our place in the world, our economic security, the vital public services upon which we all rely, our future prosperity – everything depends on, and will be defined by, the outcome of these next five years.
"If we don’t get them right, everything else we want to do in this country will be that much harder to achieve.
"If we don’t make a success of the next five years, our economic prosperity will suffer, jobs and livelihoods will be put at risk, and with them the security and peace of mind of working families.
"If we don’t make a success of Brexit, we won’t have the financial means to fund the public services upon which we all rely.
"Our National Health Service – the institution which is there for us at the most difficult times – needs us to make a success of Brexit to ensure we can afford to provide it with the resources it needs for the future.
"Every school in every village, town and city needs us to make a success of Brexit.
"If we want to continue to provide a sustainable welfare system, with help targeted at those who need it most – we need to make a success of Brexit.
"If we want to go on investing in transport infrastructure – our roads and bridges and railways – we need to make a success of Brexit.
"If we want to continue to play our part on the world stage, standing up for our liberal values, with strong defences to protect us – we need to make a success of Brexit.
"Everything depends on getting Brexit right."
WATCH: Theresa May talks about the importance of the Brexit negotiations to the Express & Star
In her first major speech since campaigning was suspended following the Manchester bomb attack, the Prime Minister made repeated swipes at Mr Corbyn.
She said the country risked 'sleepwalking' into finding the Labour leader in the hot seat over Brexit.
"Jeremy Corbyn's aides may have put him in a smart suit for TV last night but he will be 'alone and naked' in the EU negotiating chamber," she said.
She then joked: "I know it is an image that doesn't bear thinking about."
And Mrs May returned to the issue of leadership, saying: "So the central question in this election is: who has the will - and crucially the plan - to make a success of Brexit so that we can build the stronger, fairer, more prosperous Britain we want and need?
"And on that central question, I believe there is only one choice.
"Because I am clear about the instruction I have been given, clear about what needs to be done, and ready to get on with the job on day one – while Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have the belief, the will or the plan to deliver Brexit.
"And he doesn’t have the strength to do so either.
"Because the only way he can get into Number 10 is by doing a deal with the Scottish Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats who do not believe in Brexit and do not want it to succeed.
"We know this. And the rest of Europe knows it too. And they also know that a weak government in a hung parliament here at home won’t be able to stand up for Britain in Europe. They know that a British Government with a small majority – or a British Government that has to give in to other political parties all the time so that it can hold onto power – will be weak abroad because it will be compromised at home.
"And you don’t negotiate the right Brexit deal for Britain from a position of weakness. You do it from a position of strength: with a Prime Minister 100% committed to the cause, and a strong, majority government with a clear plan to see it through."
