LONDON — Theresa May will lead the Conservative Party into the next general election on the back of a bold series of domestic policy reforms that will begin to be rolled out before Christmas, according to her closest cabinet ally Damian Green.

The first secretary of state in the U.K. government — effectively the deputy prime minister — told POLITICO he expected May to remain in place “for many years” to implement the agenda she first set out on the steps of Downing Street when she succeeded David Cameron last July.

After a lack of progress on domestic policy reforms over the past five months, following the decision to call a snap election and the subsequent focus on Brexit, Green said the government would return to addressing the day-to-day concerns of ordinary voters, who need to see an improvement in their lives before the next election.

Green said the government would publish a potentially explosive report on racial disparity in the U.K. within weeks, as well as the long-awaited conclusion of the government’s “industrial strategy" — a policy of economic interventionism that marks May’s premiership in stark contrast to Cameron's more free-market approach.

"This is not just a government about Brexit, it’s a government with a big domestic agenda, and a lot of what you will see in coming months will stem from that domestic agenda" — Damian Green

The government will also make a major push on housing so they can make “an offer” to young voters at the next election, most of who swung behind the Labour Party in June’s snap poll, Green said.

“Housing policy is hugely important and particularly important for certain demographics,” Green said. “We’ve seen a decline in home ownership and that’s worrying and particularly worrying for people in their 20s and 30s who would know that [for] previous generations that was the point when they became homeowners. That’s one of the domestic issues we are determined to get to grips with.”

A senior official at Conservative Campaign Headquarters told POLITICO last month the party “urgently” needed a radical new housing policy to try to win back younger voters. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has reportedly been pressing for a significant increase in house building but faces opposition from some within his own party who are concerned about the impact that would have on the countryside.

But Green said: “We need an offer for everyone. That’s why the prime minister is very, very keen to ensure we continue to pursue the domestic agenda she set out on the steps of Downing Street when she first became prime minister. We must not neglect the domestic agenda, precisely so we've got an offer, we can show we are making life better for many groups of people, among whom are young people.”

'I'm not a quitter'

The prospect of May leading the Conservative Party into the next general election looked remote in the weeks following the calamitous ballot in June. But the prime minister has steadily rebuilt her authority since then, before finally declaring during a visit to Japan last week that she intends to remain in Downing Street for the long haul. “I’m not a quitter,” she said. Asked if that meant she wanted to lead the Conservatives into another election she replied: “Yes, I’m in this for the long term.”

Asked if he shared the prime minister’s desire to stay in place for another five years, in defiance of a significant chunk of Conservative MPs, Green said: “Yes, I think Theresa is doing what is a very difficult job extremely well and I would like to see her continue to do this for many years.” Asked if he thought she would actually fight the next election, due in 2022, Green replied: “Yes.”

Green, 61, who campaigned for Remain in the Brexit referendum, is one of May's oldest political allies, with a friendship that goes back to their time at Oxford University, where he served as president of the Oxford Union in 1977. His then girlfriend, Alicia Collinson, was the tutorial partner of the now prime minister, then Theresa Brasier.

Green admitted the result of the last election had “changed the political situation,” but insisted it did not mean the prime minister’s domestic policy agenda needed to be junked in its entirety.

“We still have the same issues that were facing the government before the election, we’ve still got basically two big tasks, [implement Brexit] successfully and pursue the prime minister’s domestic agenda, because it’s easy in weeks where Brexit has dominated for people to forget that.

“[What's] really important is to make sure we don’t lose our domestic focus. This is not just a government about Brexit, it’s a government with a big domestic agenda as well, and a lot of what you will see in the coming months will stem from that domestic agenda."

“It’s a good exercise for government to think what can we do other than pass laws" — Damian Green

Green said there would be “big meaty domestic issues to get to grips with” on top of Brexit. However, he said the reforms the prime minister wants would not all come through new legislation because there was no government majority.

Two senior Whitehall officials from other departments told POLITICO they have been asked to consider how best to enact reforms without legislation. “We were told to use our imagination,” one said. “Not all reform means changing the law.”

Green said: “If you’re going to do things which require legislation then you have to take a cool look at the [parliamentary] arithmetic, but there’s lots you can do.

“We have a parliamentary majority in those areas where we have agreement with the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party] parliamentary group. But also, there’s a lot you can do elsewhere. For instance, some of the industrial strategy stuff — a lot of it doesn’t require parliamentary legislation," he said.

“It’s a good exercise for government to think what can we do other than pass laws.”