
Theresa May set out her vision for post-Brexit Britain today, pledging a country run for 'ordinary working families' instead of the 'international elite'.

Delivering her keynote speech to Tory conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister insisted the historic result in June was a 'quiet revolution' and offered a 'once in a generation chance to change the direction of our country for good'.

Using the platform to make a bold pitch for the political centre ground nearly three months after taking charge of Downing Street, Mrs May made no bones about her disdain for snobbishness among the ruling class.

Scroll down for video

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of duty and citizenship as she fleshed out her philosophy in the speech today

The Prime Minister said she was determined to 'stand up to the weak' against the strong while she in power

She insisted her government would be about more than just Brexit, and voiced her determination to hammer big businesses that abused power and did not help improve the lives of those struggling to get by.

'In June people voted for change. And a change is going to come,' Mrs May said.

‘Change has got to come too because of the quiet revolution that took place in our country just three months ago – a revolution in which millions of our fellow citizens stood up and said they were not prepared to be ignored anymore.’

The hour long address came after a week in which the party presented a united front following bitter infighting during the Brexit campaign, and was clearly designed to set the tone for Mrs May's premiership.

MAY'S TORY CONFERENCE SPEECH AT A GLANCE ON BREXIT: Theresa May hailed the historic result of the referendum in June as a 'quiet revolution'. She pledged that 'change is going to come'. ON IMMIGRATION: Mrs May insisted the government would control immigration after we leave the EU, and lashed out at those who regarded concern about inflows as 'parochial'. ON HOUSING: The PM said she would use the 'power of government' to step in an repair the 'dysfunctional' housing market. ON SCHOOLS: Mrs May said every child should have access to a good school place and reiterated her determination to lift the ban on expanding grammars. ON THE RULING ELITE: Mrs May delivered a damning assessment of the ruling class in the UK, saying it had more in common with the 'international elite' than fellow Britons ON BAD COMPANIES: Mrs May put firms such as Google, Twitter and Amazon and business figures like former BHS boss Sir Philip Green on warning, saying she would not tolerate failure to contribute to British society. ON HOUNDED TROOPS: Mrs May delivered a brutal swipe at 'left wing' law firms who have been harassing troops over alleged abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan as she reiterated Monday’s announcement. Advertisement

Among her key messages were:

A blunt demand that the out-of-touch Westminster class accept the verdict of the 17 million people who voted for Brexit in the referendum.

A warning that Britain faces 'disaster' unless there are fundamental changes so the country helps ordinary working people rather than the wealthy.

A barely-veiled swipe at big companies and the super-rich that do not fulfil their responsibilities to society.

A promise that government will not hesitate to intervene in the 'dysfunctional' housing market and other areas like energy costs.

Mrs May attempted to draw a line under the David Cameron era, saying it was time to move on and reiterating her determination to shift policy in areas including grammar schools.

In an excoriating volley at a ruling class that has more in common with 'international elite' than their own fellow Britons, Mrs May said: ‘Just listen to the way a lot of politicians and commentators talk about the public.

‘They find their patriotism distasteful, their concerns about immigration parochial, their views about crime illiberal, their attachment to their job security inconvenient.

‘They find the fact that more than seventeen million people voted to leave the European Union simply bewildering.’

Mrs May warned that unless there was fundamental reform the divisions in British society would end in 'disaster'.

'Our society should work for everyone, but if you can’t afford to get onto the property ladder, or your child is stuck in a bad school, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you.

'Our economy should work for everyone, but if your pay has stagnated for several years in a row and fixed items of spending keep going up, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you.

'Our democracy should work for everyone, but if you’ve been trying to say things need to change for years and your complaints fall on deaf ears, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you.

'And the roots of the revolution run deep. Because it wasn’t the wealthy who made the biggest sacrifices after the financial crash, but ordinary, working class families.'

Mrs May arrive to a huge standing ovation with Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones playing, and said the Tories had faced big questions at the start of the week.

She said: ‘Do we have plan for Brexit? We do.

‘Are we ready for the effort it will take to see it through? We are.

‘Can Boris Johnson stay on message for a full four days?'

To laughter from the audience - including a slightly-awkward looking Mr Johnson himself - she said: ‘Just about!’

Mrs May was joined on stage by husband Philip after delivering her well-received speech to the gathering in Birmingham

Mrs May insisted the government did have a plan for Brexit, but made clear that her administration would be pursuing much wider reform of the country than merely cutting ties with Brussels

Mrs May set out her vision of what Britain was, telling activists it was a country built on family ties and citizenship.

She praised institutions including the NHS and the BBC, said the UK had produced more Nobel Laureates than any country outside the US and said it was all possible because of the Union.

And she said: ‘I will always fight to preserve our proud and historic union and will never let divisive nationalists drive us apart.’

Mrs May said the speech would set out her own personal vision of Britain.

The Premier said: ‘Today I want to answer that question very directly. I want to set out my vision for Britain after Brexit.

Theresa May, pictured addressing the Tory conference today, said people had 'voted for change and a change is going to come'

Mrs May opened her address with a joke about Boris Johnson's problems staying 'on message'

‘I want to lay out my approach, the things I believe, I want to explain what a country that works for everyone means.’

But she issued a warning about ‘division and unfairness all around’, repeating her mantra that a ‘change is going to and this party is going to deliver it’.

The PM slammed the gap between the ‘rich, the successful and the powerful’ and everyone else.

Mrs May said: ‘Don’t get me wrong: We applaud success, we want people to get on, but we also value something else.

‘The spirit of citizenship – that spirit that means you supports the bonds and obligations that make our society work.’

Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson, pictured second from right on the second row, appeared to take the joke at his expense in good spirits. To the right of Mr Johnson is Home Secretary Amber Rudd, while to his left are Cabinet colleagues Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon and Jeremy Hunt

The Prime Minister said she wanted to put ‘the power of Government squarely at the service of ordinary working-class people’

Reaching out to the millions of blue-collar workers who were the bedrock of Margaret Thatcher’s support, Mrs May will pledge to put ‘the power of Government squarely at the service of ordinary working-class people’.

She yesterday denied that her plans to put workers on company boards and challenge big business amounted to abandoning Conservative free market principles.

And in today’s speech, she said that Government intervention can be a force for good.

Echoing a famous phrase from Mrs Thatcher - with whom she is often compared - Mrs May said government should be about 'action'.

‘It’s about doing something, not being someone. About identifying injustices, finding solutions, driving change,' she said.

The Tory leader did not name former BHS boss Sir Philip Green by name but signalling an assault on bad business practice, she said: ‘Today too many people in positions of power behave more in common with international elites than people down the road, the people they employ, the people they pass on the street.

‘If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.

Mrs May slammed elitist politician who found the idea that seventeen million people voted to leave the European Union 'simply bewildering'

‘If you are a boss who earns a fortune but doesn’t look after your staff, an international company that treats tax laws as optional extras, a household name that refuses to work with the authorities even to fight terrorism.

‘A director who takes out massive dividends while knowing the company pension is about to go bust.

‘I am putting you on warning: This can’t go on any more.’

Mrs May said the Tories would always be the party of business but said the behaviour of bad companies fueled frustration.

She said: ‘Too often the people who are supposed to hold business accountable are drawn from the same social circles as the executive team and too often the scrutiny they provide is not good enough.’

And she added: ‘We all believe in a low tax economy but we also know tax is the price we pay for living in a civilised society.

‘Nobody, no individual tycoon or business, has succeeded on their own.

‘We all play a part in that success so it doesn’t matter to me who you are: If you are a tax dodger we are coming after you.’

Mrs May said her government would be about 'taking, not shirking, the big decisions' - warning that ministers and the party would need to have 'the courage to see things through'.

‘I want to set our party and our country on the path towards the new centre ground of British politics – built on the values of fairness and opportunity – where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be,’ she said.

She added: ‘It’s time to remember the good that Government can do.

‘Time for a new approach that says while Government does not have all the answers, Government can and should be a force for good.

'That the state exists to provide what individual people, communities and markets cannot; and that we should employ the power of Government for the good of the people.

Mrs May appeared to take aim at former BHS boss Sir Philip Green in her address to the Tory faithful in Birmingham today

Mrs May, seen arriving for her speech today with husband Philip, told activists that Britain has to change as it leaves the EU

'Time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist Left and the libertarian Right and to embrace a new centre ground in which Government steps up – and not back – to act on behalf of the people.

'Supporting free markets, but stepping in to repair them when they aren’t working as they should.

‘Encouraging business and supporting free trade, but not accepting one set of rules for some and another for everyone else.

'And if we do – if we act to correct unfairness and injustice and put Government at the service of ordinary working people – we can build that new united Britain in which everyone plays by the same rules, and in which the powerful and the privileged no longer ignore the interests of the people.’

Mrs May was wearing trademark distinctive shoes as she arrived at the venue in Birmingham today

In her second speech to conference this week – following Sunday’s address in which she promised to deliver Brexit by March 2019 – Mrs May delivered a brutal swipe at law firms who have been harassing troops over alleged abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recalling the announcement on Monday to protect troops from being pursued by lawyers, she said: ‘Not only will we support (our Armed Forces) with our heart and soul, not only will we remain committed to spending 2 per cent of our national income on defence, but we will never again in any future conflict let those activist, left-wing human rights lawyers harangue and harass the bravest of the brave, the men and women of our Armed Forces.’

Mrs May said she would press on with High Speed 2 and said there would ‘shortly’ be a decision on airport expansion.

She told activists: ‘We will take the big decisions when they are the right decisions for Britain because that is what Government can do.

‘And we can take those big decisions because our economy is strong and because of the fiscal discipline we have shown over the last six years.

‘We must continue to aim for a balanced budget but to build an economy that works for everyone we must also invest in the things that matter, the things with a long term return.’

Mrs May said the Government would acknowledge the ‘bad side effects’ of historically low interest rates – repeating again her mantra ‘a change has got to come.’

Mrs May said Britain would be a ‘global’ nation after Brexit takes place and told activists the country would be the ‘strongest and most passionate advocate for free trade.

And she said the UK would continue to play its role as a major aid-giving and defence-spending nation.

The PM, dressed in a striking purple dress and watched by husband Philip in the hall, made a bold bid to woo Labour voters.

She branded Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition the ‘nasty party’ – the phrase she famously used in her call for the Tories to modernise in a speech at the 2002 party conference.

She told Tory delegates: ‘We must govern for the whole nation, where Labour build barriers we will build bridges, towards working class people.’

The PM said: ‘The main lesson I take from their conference last week is that the Labour Party is not just divided, but divisive.

‘Determined to pit one against another. To pursue vendettas and settle scores.

Mrs May, pictured with husband Philip this morning, has denied she is abandoning Conservative free market principles

'And to embrace the politics of pointless protest that doesn’t unite people but pulls them further apart.

‘So let’s have no more of Labour’s absurd belief that they have a monopoly on compassion. Let’s put an end to their sanctimonious pretence of moral superiority.

‘Let’s make clear that they have given up the right to call themselves the party of the NHS, the party of the workers, the party of public servants.’

THIS CAN'T GO ON: MAY'S WARNING TO BAD BUSINESS Theresa May called out Twitter, Google and Sir Philip Green in her first conference speech as Prime Minister as she demanded a 'change' must come to Britain. While not naming any by name, none in Birmingham's Symphony Hall were left in doubt at the Tory leader's intentions. Mrs May set out an interventionist vision for her government and warned it was only through reform could treasured institutions be protected. She said: ' Today too many people in positions of power behave more in common with international elites than people down the road, the people they employ, the people they pass on the street. ‘If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere. ‘If you are a boss who earns a fortune but doesn’t look after your staff, an international company that treats tax laws as optional extras, a household name that refuses to work with the authorities even to fight terrorism. ‘A director who takes out massive dividends while knowing the company pension is about to go bust. ‘I am putting you on warning: This can’t go on any more.' Advertisement

Mrs May said the Tories had a 'responsibility to step up, represent and govern for the whole nation'.

'That means tackling unfairness and injustice, and shifting the balance of Britain decisively in favour of ordinary working class people,' she said.

'Giving them access to the opportunities that are too often the preserve of the privileged few.

'Putting fairness at the heart of our agenda and creating a country in which hard work is rewarded and talent is welcome.

'A nation where contribution matters more than entitlement. Merit matters more than wealth.

'A confident global Britain that doesn’t turn its back on globalisation but ensures the benefits are shared by all.

'A country that is prosperous and secure, so every person may share in the wealth of the nation and live their life free from fear.'

Mrs May said Britain faced an historic moment that ‘calls us to respond and reshape our nation again’.

She said: ‘This is our generation’s moment. To write a new future on the page, to bring power home and make decisions here in Britain.

‘To take back control and reshape our future here in Britain.

‘To build an outward looking, confident trading nation here in Britain. To build a stronger, fairer, brighter future here in Britain.

‘That is the opportunity we have been given and the responsibility to grasp it falls upon us all.

‘So to everyone here this morning, and the millions beyond, whether leavers or remainers, I say come with me and we will write that brighter future.

‘Come with me and we will make that change. Come with me as we rise to meet this moment.

‘Come with me and together let’s seize the day.’

In a TV interview last night, she also vowed to get tough on big business which does not behave responsibly.

Speaking on BBC’s Newsnight, she said: ‘I think people want to feel that everybody plays by the same rules in the economy and feel that there isn’t one rule for the privileged few and another rule for everybody else.

‘Companies must recognise that actually they have a position in society too.

'This is why I’m talking about issues like consumer representation on boards, worker representation on boards.’

But Mrs May denied that she was abandoning Conservative free market principles.

She said: ‘I’m going to be setting out the sort of economic and social reforms I want to see that will deliver a country that works for everyone.’

The speech comes after a conference in which the Tories attempted to show a united front following the bitter infighting of the EU referendum campaign.

It is Mrs May's second speech to the conference in Birmingham after laying out her plans for Brexit by 2019 in the first, pictured

'The bravest of the brave won't be harassed by left-wing lawyers any more': Theresa May hails reform to protect British troops from compensation claims

Theresa May today slammed 'activist, left wing, human rights lawyers' for harassing British troops over their battlefield conduct.

The Prime Minister recalled Monday's major announcement to exempt troops from some human rights legislation to protect them from complaints.

Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been subjected to legal claims - many of which are seen as vexatious - for years after the end of each war.

Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been subjected to legal claims - many of which are seen as vexatious - for years after the end of each war (file picture)

In her first keynote conference speech as party leader and Prime Minister, Mrs May said: 'Always acting as the strongest and most passionate advocate for free trade right across the globe.

'And always committed to a strong national defence and supporting the finest Armed Forces known to man.

'And this week, our excellent Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, proved not only that we will support them with our hearts and souls. Not only will we remain committed to spending two per cent of our national income on defence.

'But we will never again – in any future conflict – let those activist, left-wing human rights lawyers harangue and harass the bravest of the brave – the men and women of Britain’s Armed Forces.'

The announcement by Mrs May and Mr Fallon on Monday followed a successful Mail campaign to end the witchhunt against British troops.

JUST ABOUT! MAY QUIPS THAT BORIS JOHNSON HAS MANAGED TO STAY ON MESSAGE Boris Johnson, pictured during Theresa May's speech, was the target of the only quip in a serious address Theresa May teased Boris Johnson over his tendency to drift off message in her first conference speech as leader. The Prime Minister said keeping her Foreign Secretary on track for the four day Tory conference had been a key goal at the start of the week. The quip was the only light-hearted line in the entire 60 minute speech. Mrs May arrive to a huge standing ovation with Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones playing, and said big questions faced the Tories at the start of the week. She said: ‘Do we have plan for Brexit? We do. ‘Are we ready for the effort it will take to see it through? We are. ‘Can Boris Johnson stay on message for a full four days?' To laughter from the audience - including a slightly-awkward looking Mr Johnson himself - she said: ‘Just about!’ Mr Johnson was slapped down by Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Monday for remarks made last month but has otherwise had a quiet conference. Advertisement

Theresa May lavishes praise on David Cameron - but says we need to draw a line under his era

Theresa May delivered a fawning thanks to David Cameron during her first leader's speech to Tory conference today despite tearing down a number of his key policies in her first three months in No 10.

She gave a long list of the former Prime Minister’s achievements in office, citing record employment, the new National Living wage, deficit reduction, three million apprenticeships, her own record on reducing crime and taking the lowest paid out of income tax.

Mrs May said it was a ‘record of which we should all be proud’ as she told Tory delegates: ‘This morning it’s right that we pause to say thank you to the man who made that possible.

Theresa May (pictured right) praised her former boss David Cameron (centre) but insisted it was now time to move on from his time as Prime Minister

‘A man who challenged us to change and told us that if we did then we would win again.

‘And he was right. We did change. We did win. The first majority Conservative Government in almost 25 years.

‘A great leader of our party – a great servant to our country. David Cameron, thank you,’ she said to loud applause.

But acknowledging the ‘quiet revolution’ of June’s Brexit vote, Mrs May then immediately said: ‘Now we need to change again.’