'Put your trust in me,' Theresa May tells country ahead of snap general election vote

Primed for election battle: Prime Minister Theresa May
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Theresa May today urged voters “to put their trust in me” as she denied she was planning compromises on Brexit.

The Prime Minister was challenged over remarks made by Home Secretary Amber Rudd that appeared to suggest a big Tory majority could mean a softer exit from the European Union.

Ms Rudd hinted on BBC Newsnight that a large majority would give Mrs May “the opportunity to arrive at potential compromises within the EU”.

But Mrs May insisted on BBC radio this morning that she would keep promises to end free movement and recover sovereignty over laws.

She said: “I trust the British public. I’m asking them to put their trust in me and if they do that, if they give me a mandate for these negotiations for the plan for Brexit that the Government has, the plan for a stronger Britain beyond Brexit that we have, then I think that will strengthen our hand.”

In key events today:

  • MPs looked set to approve a historic motion for the election to be held on June 8 by the required two-thirds majority. The Prime Minister was making a statement in the House to make the case for going to the country three years earlier than the Fixed-term Parliaments Act permits.

  • Shadow chancellor John McDonnell sparked a tax row by suggesting Labour would hike tax bills for people earning more than £70,000 to £80,000.

  • Senior City figures urged Mrs May to use the “wiggle room” of a big majority to soften Brexit commitments on curbing immigration and leaving the single market.

In her interview on Today, Mrs May said she wanted “sustainable levels” of immigration but would not be drawn on numbers. Downing Street declined to confirm or deny whether the manifesto would repeat David Cameron’s target of cutting net immigration to the “tens of thousands”.

Radio interview: Theresa May
PA

But the Prime Minister denied that she would compromise on ending free movement or the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

“When people voted to leave the European Union, they did vote to end free movement. I have been very clear: people want control of our borders.

“They did vote for us to have control over our law, so that we are not subject to the European Court of Justice.”

Mrs May confirmed that changing the date of the 2020 election would prevent it clashing with what she called “the most crucial part of the negotiations”.

On immigration, she said: “What people want is for us to have control of our borders. I am very clear that we want migration at sustainable levels.

Election battle: Jeremy Corbyn
Getty Images

“What we will now have when we leave the European Union is the ability to have control in relation to people moving to the UK from the European Union.” The Prime Minister refused to be drawn on whether free movement of labour would end as soon as the UK withdrew from the EU, which is scheduled to take place in 2019.

On the early election, she said: “I genuinely came to this decision reluctantly, having looked at the circumstances, and having looked ahead at the process of negotiation. It’s about asking the people to trust me, to trust us in government, to give us that mandate to go and get that really good deal for the UK.”

She also claimed Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP were intent on “frustrating the Brexit process”.

While Mrs May reaffirmed her commitment to give Parliament a vote on any deal with the EU, she flatly ruled out a second referendum.

“There will be no second referendum. The British people voted last year to leave the European Union.

“We have taken that key step of triggering Article 50. The process is in motion. There can be no turning back.”

Labour MP Gisela Stuart admitted her party would probably not win. “It is unlikely if I look at the figures, that I will have a Labour government,” she said. “So what I want is actually a very strong representation of the Labour Party in the House of Commons.”

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