{{Short description|British political slogan}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} thumb|upright|Theresa May in 2017 "'''Strong and stable'''" or "'''strong and stable leadership'''" was a phrase often used by the prime minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May in the run up to the 2017 general election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/strong-stable-votes-versus.aspx|title='Strong and Stable' versus 'for the Many not the Few'|publisher=University of Birmingham|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/09/theresa-mays-dreadful-night-strong-stable-fantasy-evaporated|title='Dreadful night' when Theresa May's strong and stable fantasy evaporated|newspaper=The Guardian|date=9 June 2017|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref>
The slogan was criticised often by opponents of May, for its perceived robotic delivery and contradictory nature, also becoming an Internet meme.
==Origins== [[File:Strong and Stable sign in Shoreditch, London (cropped).jpg|thumb|Poster in Shoreditch, London, mocking the phrase during the election campaign]] According to the ''Financial Times'', the phrase may have originated from former Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation speech after the UK voted to leave the European Union: "stability ... strong, determined and committed leadership".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/8c41b7d2-663f-11e7-9a66-93fb352ba1fe|title=The surprising origins of May's 'strong and stable' slogan|newspaper=Financial Times|date=12 July 2017|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref> David Cutts, professor of political science at the University of Birmingham, has described the phrase as an example of compressing information to provide helpful cues to voters and reduce the time needed to acquire information.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/strong-stable-votes-versus.aspx|title='Strong and Stable' versus 'for the Many not the Few'|first=David|last=Cutts|publisher=University of Birmingham|accessdate=15 April 2019}}</ref> Gordon Brown used "strong and stable" in his resignation speech in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-05-11 |title=Full text: Brown quits statement |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8676273.stm |access-date=2024-12-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref> David Cameron said the Cameron–Clegg coalition would provide "strong and stable" leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-05-13 |title=Timeline: How the drama of the coalition unfolded |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8677552.stm |access-date=2024-12-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Use by Theresa May and others== "Strong and stable" was described as a cliché and led to criticism that May was an ineffective political campaigner who could only talk in slogans.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/24/european-media-delight-in-covering-anti-brexit-march|title=European media delight in covering anti-Brexit march|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 March 2019|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/26/jacinda-ardern-brexit-theresa-may|title=If Jacinda Ardern was in No 10, imagine how different Brexit would be|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 March 2019|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref> In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr, May was stopped after saying "strong and stable" in the first 30 seconds, and was asked to not use sound bites.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-lasts-30-seconds-when-asked-on-marr-not-to-use-soundbites-a7710021.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-lasts-30-seconds-when-asked-on-marr-not-to-use-soundbites-a7710021.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Theresa May lasts just 30 seconds when asked on Marr "not to use soundbites"|work=The Independent|date=30 April 2017|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref> During a Commons debate, Labour MP Paul Flynn sarcastically asked the chamber, through Speaker John Bercow, if a microchip had been planted in Conservative MPs' heads to repeat "strong and stable" every 18 seconds.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39730467|title='Strong and stable' - Why politicians keep repeating themselves|work=BBC News|date=27 April 2017|accessdate=4 December 2019}}</ref>
Artist Jeremy Deller designed a poster parodying the phrase and mocking the government's Brexit process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-exhibition/its-not-brexit-but-is-it-art-asks-new-london-show-idUSKCN1QW2O0|title=It's not Brexit (yet), but is it art, asks new London show|work=Reuters|date=15 March 2019|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref> At a press conference during the election campaign, a reporter suggested that May was "weak and wobbly" rather than "strong and stable".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154864271416939|title=May challenged on being weak and wobbly|work=Channel 4 News|accessdate=27 March 2019}}</ref> This was repeated by other news outlets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0683t3n|title=When 'Strong and Stable' became 'Weak and Wobbly'|first=Carolyn|last=Quinn|author-link=Carolyn Quinn|publisher=BBC Radio 4|date=24 May 2018|accessdate=27 March 2019}}</ref> At another point in the election campaign, a man presented opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn with two bananas, one bearing the word "strong" and the other with the word "stable." Corbyn found the incident amusing even though the man had intended to suggest that his politics were bananas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/jeremy-corbyn-offered-strong-stable-13007041|title=This is why Jeremy Corbyn was offered 'strong and stable' bananas|first=Simon|last=Gilbert|date=9 May 2017|newspaper=Coventry Telegraph}}</ref>
After the election, May reportedly wanted to drop her "strong and stable" slogan because she felt it was making her look "stupid", and it was widely considered that the phrase had been overused and was becoming ever less effective.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jimmy Nsubuga |url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/12/theresa-may-wanted-to-drop-strong-and-stable-slogan-because-it-made-her-look-stupid-6703964/ |title=Prime Minister Theresa May 'wanted to drop strong and stable slogan' | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=12 June 2017 |accessdate=14 June 2017}}</ref>
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's coordinator for Brexit-related affairs, parodied the phrase by saying "Any Brexit deal requires a strong and stable understanding of the complex issues involved".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/10/strong-and-stable-leadership-could-theresa-mays-rhetorical-carpet-bombing-backfire|title=Strong and stable leadership!' Could Theresa May's rhetorical carpet-bombing backfire?|first=Steven|last=Poole|author-link=Steven Poole|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 May 2019|accessdate=26 March 2019}}</ref>
==Later use== The phrase was still being associated with May in 2019, the year of her resignation as prime minister.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/for-eu-brexit-has-trashed-mays-strong-and-stable-image/2019/03/22/72a62452-4c9d-11e9-8cfc-2c5d0999c21e_story.html|title=For EU, Brexit has trashed May's 'strong and stable' image|date=22 March 2019|accessdate=26 March 2019|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/24/theresa-may-steps-down-resigns-tory-leader-conservative-brexit|title=Theresa May announces she will resign on 7 June|last=Stewart|first=Heather|date=2019-05-24|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
''The Guardian'' quipped, on a book collecting a few years of John Crace's politics sketches:<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-02-26|title=The politics sketch|newspaper= The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/series/the-politics-sketch|author=John Crace|author-link=John Crace (writer)}}</ref>
{{quote|"Brexit means Brexit." "Strong and stable." "I don't think I'm in the least robotic." Ever since Theresa May first whirred into inaction as prime minister, there has only been one reliable source of strength and stability: John Crace's political sketches for the Guardian.|2={{cite book|author=John Crace|title=I, Maybot: the rise and fall|date=3 May 2018|url=https://guardianbookshop.com/i-maybot-9781783351596.html|location=London|isbn=978-1-78335-159-6}} }}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|author=John Crace|author-link=John Crace (writer)|title=I, Maybot: the rise and fall|date=3 May 2018|url=https://guardianbookshop.com/i-maybot-9781783351596.html|location=London|isbn=978-1-78335-159-6}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Theresa May|state=collapsed}}
Category:2017 neologisms Category:2017 quotations Category:British political phrases (2000–present) Category:Internet memes introduced in 2017 Category:Political Internet memes Category:Political quotes Category:Premiership of Theresa May Category:Conservative Party (UK) terms Category:2017 United Kingdom general election