Teresa May

I was born 1 October 1956 and am a British politician serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016. I served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. I was first elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead in 1997. Ideologically, I identifies myself as a one-nation conservative.

I grew up in Oxfordshire and attended St Hugh's College, Oxford. From 1977 until 1983, I worked for the Bank of England, and from 1985 until 1997 at the Association for Payment Clearing Services, also serving as a councillor for Durnsford in Merton. After unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994, I was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election. From 1999 to 2010, I held a number of roles in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Howard, and David Cameron, including Shadow Transport Secretary and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. I was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003.

After the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election, I was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, I went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary for over 60 years. During my tenure I pursued reform of the Police Federation, implemented a harder line on drugs policy including the banning of khat, oversaw the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners, the deportation of Abu Qatada, the creation of the National Crime Agency and brought in additional restrictions on immigration.

Following Cameron's resignation, I won a leadership election in July 2016, becoming the second female Prime Minister, following Margaret Thatcher. As Prime Minister, I began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union, triggering Article 50 in March 2017 then, the following month, announcing a snap general election in June, with the aim of strengthening my hand in Brexit negotiations. This resulted in a hung parliament, in which the number of Conservative seats fell from 330 to 317, despite the party winning their highest vote share since 1983, prompting me to broker a confidence and supply deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to support a minority government. Some have described triggering Article 50 in March 2017 then, the following month.....