British Prime Minister Theresa May says ‘I'm here for the long term’

British Prime Minister Theresa May is greeted by Japanese officials upon her arrival at Otami airport in Osaka on August 30, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will lead the Conservative Party into the next parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for 2022.

May made the remarks in interviews broadcast on Thursday, following reports that she would step down after achieving the British exit from the European Union in March 2019.  

She told Sky News there was "absolutely no basis for those reports whatsoever. I'm in this for the long term.”

"I'm not a quitter," May said in an interview with ITV News during a visit to Japan.

May’s Conservatives were enjoying a record surge in April in the polls when she opportunistically called for a snap election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her position before going into two years of intense negotiations with the European Union about Britain’s departure from the bloc.

However, May’s election gamble spectacularly backfired. British voters dealt her a devastating blow on June 8, wiping out her parliamentary majority. The opposition Labour Party, meanwhile, picked up dozens of seats.

May was forced to seek a contentious supply-and-confidence agreement with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, in a bid to cling to power – at the cost of £1 billion.

Asked by the BBC in an interview if she still wants to lead the Conservative Party into the next election, May replied, "Yes. I'm here for the long term.”

"And it's crucial. What me and my government are about is not just delivering on Brexit. We are delivering a brighter future for the United Kingdom," she said.

"It is my intention not just to deliver a good Brexit deal for the UK but also to ensure that 'global Britain' can take its place in the world, trading around the world and that we deal with those injustices domestically that we need to do to ensure that stronger, more global but also fairer Britain for the future,” she continued.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to "try to force an early general election" after May lost her parliamentary majority.

Corbyn has said it’s “ludicrous” to suggest May could stay in power and that his party "will challenge this government at every step and try to force an early general election."