Catherine Shuttleworth
Sep 16, 2023
BBC Radio 4
Former Tory prime minister Theresa May has said she's "woke and proud" in an announcement that has surprised pretty much everyone.
She made the comment while speaking to Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Scottish Conservative party, for Times Radio. The former prime minister has been doing a round of interviews to promote her first book The Abuse of Power.
The 66-year-old clarified that she was woke "in the terms of that definition of somebody who recognises that discrimination takes place".
The word "woke" has often been used as a way to criticise and attack progressive politics. It was used last year by current Home Secretary Suella Braverman who blamed "Guardian-reading, tofu-eating, wokerati" for environmental protests. May said the word 'woke' has "come to be used ... as part of this absolutism and polarisation of politics".
As Home Secretary, May introduced the "hostile environment" policy which aimed at reducing public services for undocumented migrants. Despite this, May said in the interview: "I've always said that immigration has bene good for the country."
Continuing, she stated: "But we need to ensure that fewer people feel the need to migrate to Western countries like the UK."
Many on social media couldn't believe what they were hearing:
I think I'm hauving a stroke— Karl Max \ud83e\udeb6\ud83d\udcd6 (@Karl Max \ud83e\udeb6\ud83d\udcd6) 1694830665
Did not have this on my bingo card lol— Eric Josey (@Eric Josey) 1694832202
Whilst some brought up her career as Prime Minister and Home Secretary to contradict her claim:
once again im forced to ask what the hell is happening in the UK— Didier (@Didier) 1694838435
\u201cWoke\u201d— Dan Salter (@Dan Salter) 1694859527
her time as pm and home secretary suggest the opposite— Usman Akhtar \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f (@Usman Akhtar \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f) 1694824450
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