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Theresa May makes compromise plea and says she is 'worried about state of politics'

The prime minister uses her final major speech to criticise MPs voting down her deal and urge against "tribal" politics.

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May 'worried about the state of politics'
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Theresa May has declared she is "worried about the state of politics" in Britain, Europe and the rest of the world, as she used her final major speech as prime minister to encourage politicians to compromise more.

She hit out at an "absolutism" that has "festered" and bred the rise of the far-left and the far-right, criticising world leaders who view diplomacy as a "zero sum game where one country can only gain if others lose".

With just days left until she leaves Downing Street, Mrs May also admitted she had no "greater regret" than not delivering Brexit and issued her strongest attack on Leave-backing MPs yet.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 09: A general view of 10 Downing Street on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Image: Britain's next prime minister will be announced on Tuesday 23 July

"I was told that if I said I would stand down then the votes would come behind the deal," she said in a speech at Chatham House.

"I said I would stand down and I am doing so. The votes didn't come. That's politics."

Mrs May defended her attempt to deliver Brexit, but admitted her language had not always been in the spirit of compromise.

"Has every phrase been as perfect as it should have been? No," she reflected.

More on Brexit

The outgoing prime minister also insisted her attacks on "populist movements" were not about US President Donald Trump or Boris Johnson, the favourite to replace her next Wednesday.

"This is a general observation that I have - I've seen it in politics across the world," she said.

The special relationship with the US will "remain", Mrs May added, "regardless" of who its president is.

She hit out at a "coarsening" of public debate more broadly, especially online, where people "express their anger and anxiety without filter or accountability", which has turned debate into "tribal bitterness".

MPs debating Brexit. Pic: UK Parliament/Mark Duffy
Image: Mrs May hit out at MPs for voting down her Brexit deal

"Words have consequences - and ill words that go unchallenged are the first step on a continuum towards ill deeds - towards a much darker place where hatred and prejudice drive not only what people say but also what they do," Mrs May said.

The Tory leadership race will close on Monday 22 July, with the winner - Mr Johnson or Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - announced the following day.

Mrs May will then take her last questions as prime minister in the Commons on Wednesday, before heading to Buckingham Palace to resign.

Her successor will then be summoned to meet the Queen to officially take over as prime minister.