Skip to content

From MP to PM: Theresa May's Maidenhead legacy

Getty Images Theresa May dressed in blueGetty Images
Former Prime Minister Theresa May is standing down as Maidenhead MP at the next general election, after 27 years

Theresa May has announced she will stand down as MP in the safe Conservative seat she has held since 1997. Her ups and downs as Home Secretary and Prime Minister have been well documented and debated - but what is her legacy among Maidenhead constituents? BBC Berkshire political reporter Patrick O'Hagan provides his analysis.

Spend time in the Berkshire town and you will soon find people with a story to tell.

The young state-educated schoolgirl, listening wide-eyed with wonder as Mrs May told her she could be anything she wanted - and to never let any man tell her otherwise.

When asked by the girl if it meant she could also have her own cool-looking car, with men in sunglasses opening and closing its doors for her when she went to school, rather than be dropped off in her dad's beaten up old VW, the answer was yes.

Mrs May added, with a quick laugh, to be careful what she wished for though.

Elected with a 18,846 majority in the seat at the last election, she is regularly spotted popping into local charities, asking what she could do as their local MP to help.

Getty Images Theresa May and local butcherGetty Images
As Prime Minister, Theresa May speaks with a butcher in her constituency of Maidenhead, Berkshire

But politics is a brutal game.

To get to the very top you have to be driven, ruthless, relentless.

When you do finally reach the heights that she did - in running the country between 2016 and 2019 - it is all too easy to forget how you got there.

It is also all too easy to leave behind the people who gave you the chance to fulfil your dream.

That was never going to be her way, though.

Those who know her best have never wavered in their loyalty to her knowing that she, in turn, would never waver in her loyalty to them.

Many former Prime Ministers walk away from politics as soon as their time is up - but Mrs May has remained a committed local MP.

History will likely prove a harsh judge of her time as Prime Minister - her detractors are many. Fewer, though, would question her credentials as a local MP.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.