Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Who is Theresa May?
Who is Theresa May?
Jan 6, 2026 11:29 PM

A true feminist, a devout Christian, and a leader mon sense will soon move into 10 Downing Street.

As excitement—and dismay—surrounded Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, Remainer and (former) prime minister, David Cameron announced his resignation from British parliament’s highest position. Today he officially leaves office, allowing Theresa May to e the next British Prime Minister.

Originally, Cameron planned to wait until October to pass the torch to the next leader, but on Monday he stated that, “we now don’t need to have a prolonged period of transition. And so tomorrow I will chair my last Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for Prime Minister’s questions.”

The background on May’s rise to this office may be a plicated to Americans, pared to our current messy presidential election. Rather than a national vote for a new prime minister, in the British parliamentary system the ruling party’s leader (in this case, the Conservatives) automatically es prime minister.

Two candidates vying to take over the Conservative Party, and ultimately the prime minister’s seat, were May and Andrea Leadsom. But the two never went to election as Leadsom decided to drop out after people took offense to her suggestions that she’d make a better leader than May because she is a mother and May is not. ments were particularly unacceptable, as May has been open about her desire to have a family with her husband of 35 years, Phillip John May, and that not having children is an “ultra-sensitive topic” for her. With Leadsom dropping out, May became leader of the Conservative Party and now will e the second female British prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.

Theresa May had been the Home Secretary since 2010. There is no real American equivalent to this office, but the Secretary of Homeland Security is probably the closest. The Home Secretary reports to the prime minister and overseas British internal affairs.

While much news has focused on May’s propensity to wear eclectic and nontraditional shoes or her lack of children, more focus should be given to her faith.

She is the only child of Rev Hubert, a vicar, and Zaidee Brasier. The late reverend’s sense of duty mitment to helping those around him inspired in his daughter a desire to e a politician also with a clear sense of duty to country and her people. “You don’t think about yourself,” she said. “The emphasis is on others.” She sees her political work as a vocation rather than a “job.” A typical Brit, May has attempted to keep her private and faith life out of the public eye and does not try to evangelize using her influence, “it’s good we don’t flaunt such things in British politics,” she once said when discussing her faith.

More than just simply growing up in a devout home, May continues to practice Anglicanism. One of her favorite songs is “When I survey the wondrous cross” and when discussing religion, she said, “It is part of me, part of whom I am and how I approach things.”

She pays special attention to the vulnerable in society, and has called on other conservatives to fight against injustice in society:

If you’re born poor, you will die on average nine years earlier than others. If you’re black you will be treated much more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white. If you’re a white working class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else to go to university … If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately. If you’re a woman you still earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there’s too often not enough help to hand.

Also notable, since it arguably led to her ing prime minister, is May’s stance on Brexit. Before the vote, she wanted to remain in the European Union, but since the country made the decision for Brexit, May has made it clear she will not attempt to undermine the voters’ decision. “Brexit means Brexit” she assured the British people. Moving forward she seeks “unity” and will focus on “negotiat[ing] the best deal for Britain as we leave the EU and forge a new role for ourselves in the world.”

Regarding her views on trade and the market, she’s kept mum. Political editor for the Financial Times, George Parker says that she was “short on specifics” when outlining her vision for business. Echoing that sentiment though going even further, Janan Ganesh calls her a “mystery.” Also writing for the financial times, he says that “[a]ll we can do is assemble clues” when attempting to summarize her economic views.

Only the second woman to be named British Prime Minister, someone who is firmly grounded in her faith, and a leader who puts her people and her country before herself, Theresa May’s new role is one that I think we can celebrate in the United States.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Samuel Gregg: Free Market Economics And The Pope
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium continues to stimulate conversation, especially in the arena of economics. According to Francis X. Rocca at the Catholic News Service, many are heralding the pope’s call for doing away with “an ‘economy of exclusion and inequality’ based on the ‘idolatry of money.'” Sam Gregg, Acton’s Director of Research, weighed in on the pope’s economic viewpoint. There’s plenty of evidence out there, from the World Bank for example, suggesting that the number of people in...
How to Think About Money Like the Working Poor (Part 2)
Yesterday I began a series of posts which attempts to explain why the working poor tend to make terrible financial decisions and how they think about money differently than other economic classes. In my initial post I wrote, Imagine that instead of having to deal with consumption smoothing decisions, at most, several times a year, you had to deal with them several times a month, or even several times a week. Now also imagine there is no workable solution that...
Acton Institute Participating in 2014 ‘Cure Our World’ Conference in Bangkok
The Acton Institute is co-sponsoring the ‘Cure Our World’ Conference, sponsored by the Catholic Business Executives Group (CBEG) for Christian business leaders. The conference will take place in Bangkok, March 20-22 of 2014. There will be many interesting speakers, including Acton president and co-founder, Rev. Robert A. Sirico. Read on for how to get the “early bird” discount. Here are seven reasons why you consider participating in this conference: To learn, meditate and inculcate the social teachings and wisdom of...
The Luxury of Solar-Powered Simplicity
There is a kind of trendy “green” simplicity that is a luxury only paratively wealthy can afford, says Dylan Pahman in this week’s Acton Commentary. But there is a movement catching steam that might perfectly encapsulate a type of solar-powered simplicity: The tiny house movement is a recent trend in the United States for building and living in eco-friendly domiciles about half the average size of an apartment. Graham Hill, a tiny house architect, described his philosophy in the New...
PovertyCure International Short Film Festival: Invitation To Vote And Attend
is an international network of organizations and individuals seeking to ground mon battle against global poverty in a proper understanding of the human person and society, and to encourage solutions that foster opportunity and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit that already fills the developing world. In order to continue to educate and inform people about entrepreneurial solutions to poverty, PovertyCure is hosting the PovertyCure Film Festival and Feature Documentary Preview on December 12, 2013 in New York City. According to PovertyCure,...
How to Think About Money Like the Working Poor
After reading ment thread in which her online friends plaining about poor people’s self-defeating behavior, Linda Walther Tirado wrote an articled titled “Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, Poverty Thoughts,” which chronicled her struggles with near abject poverty. I think that we look at the academic problems of poverty and have no idea of the why. We know the what and the how, and we can see systemic problems, but it’s rare to have a poor person actually explain it...
Plan to Privatize the DIA Still Alive
Earlier this year I argued for a plan that would privatize the DIA, allowing for the City of Detroit to cash in on a measure of the collection’s worth to satisfy creditors and simultaneously protect the DIA’s artwork from being parceled out in bankruptcy proceedings. At the time, I had doubts about the practicability of the idea. I figured that even if such a path were to be pursued that the DIA would likely end up torn apart like a...
Do We Need To ‘Check Our Faith At The Door?’
Increasingly, Americans who adhere to a religion are told they cannot “force their beliefs” on others. Simply stating publicly that one doesn’t believe gays have the right to marry can cost you your career. Literally hundreds of lawsuits are now in motion against the government because employers do not want to be forced to violate their religious beliefs by paying for employees’ contraception and/or abortions. Richard W. Garnett ponders this topic in today’s Los Angeles Times. Garnett takes the reader...
Audio: Samuel Gregg Discusses ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ on Kresta in the Afternoon
Continuing our roundup of ment on Evangelii Gaudium, here’s Acton’s Director of Research and Author of Tea Party Catholic Samuel Gregg joining host Al Kresta on Ave Maria Radio’s Kresta in the Afternoonto discuss Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, with particular emphasis on its economic elements. This interview took place on Monday, December 2nd. ...
The Mysterious Case Of The Disappearing Doctors
No, it’s not a Sherlock Holmes book. It’s reality: American is losing doctors. When most of us have a medical concern, our first “line of defense” is the family physician: that person who checks our blood pressure, keeps on eye on our weight, looks in our ears and our throat for infections, and does our annual physicals. And it’s these doctors that are ing scarce. In American Spectator, Acton Research Fellow Jonathan Witt takes a look at this issue. My...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved