Theresa May has insisted that she feels secure in her position as Prime Minister, despite reports of colleagues weighing up the possibility of a challenge for the top job.
Appearing on ITV1’s This Morning, Mrs May dismissed suggestions that she was constantly on the lookout for rivals within the Government who might stab her in the back and insisted she was enjoying her stint as PM.
But she acknowledged that her job was eating into the time she has to relax, telling presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: “I never get to the end of a box-set.”
Asked by Schofield whether she felt secure in her job in the face of media speculation about leadership challenges, Mrs May said: “Yes. I’m doing the job and I’m going to jolly well get on and do it.
“What drives me in doing it is actually not what’s written, but what people out there want the Government to do. That’s the important thing.”
And when she was asked whether she was always watching out for colleagues who might stab her in the back, she said: “No. For me it’s actually all about what I’m doing to deliver for the public.
Theresa May being interviewed on This Morning (ITV/PA)
“That’s why I was on doorsteps in my own constituency on Saturday afternoon, talking to people, hearing from them about the issues that really matter to them.
“That’s what drives me, that’s what politics is about.”
When asked whether she was enjoying her time in Number 10, the PM replied: “Yes. Throughout my life, whenever I’ve taken jobs on I’ve never thought ‘Oh, it’s going to be like this or like that’. I just get on and do it.
“There’s huge issues to be dealing with, but it’s worthwhile if we can help children in school to not be bullied, if we can keep children safe on the internet, if we can say to a young person today who’s worried that they might be pushed into university when they don’t want to ‘No, there’s going to be a different route for you’.”
Asked by Willoughby whether she ever had the chance to kick back and relax in front of the TV, Mrs May laughed and said: “I never get to the end of a box-set.
“It’s a job where you are constantly thinking about it and obviously anything can happen at any point which means that you have to really get involved. I enjoy things like cooking and walking and so forth.”