Theresa May's New Year message: PM says 2018 will bring 'renewed pride' to Britain amid Brexit divisions

Prime Minister admits ‘any year brings its challenges’ after 12 months marked by Brexit divisions, terror attacks and a calamitous general election

Theresa May has said the coming year will bring “renewed confidence and pride” to Britain as she sought to heal Brexit divisions and draw a line under a tumultuous 12 months.

The Prime Minister used her New Year’s message to hail the “good progress” made in the Brexit negotiations but she also made clear that the EU withdrawal was “not the limit of our ambitions”.

After 12 months marred by division over Europe, terror attacks in London and Manchester, cabinet resignations and a calamitous general election result, Ms May acknowledged that “any year brings its challenges”.

However she sought to strike an upbeat tone by hailing it as a “year of progress” for the UK, insisting that the divisions left by EU referendum were in the past as “most people just want the Government to get on and deliver a good Brexit, and that’s exactly what we are doing”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his New Year message to say Labour was on the brink of power, claiming “the old political consensus is finished”.

In a video message from Downing Street, Ms May said: ”Of course any year brings its challenges – that is true for each of us personally, as much as for our country and the world.

“But the real test is not whether challenges come; it’s how you face them.

“Whether you allow a task to overcome you, or tackle it head on with purpose and resolve.”

She went on: “I believe 2018 can be a year of renewed confidence and pride in our country.

“A year in which we continue to make good progress towards a successful Brexit deal, an economy that’s fit for the future, and a stronger and fairer society for everyone.”

In a nod to the sexual harassment scandal that engulfed Westminster in October – claiming the scalps of cabinet ministers Damian Green and Sir Michael Fallon – Ms May said everyone had the “right to be treated with respect” and “that means safe workplaces, free from harassment”.

She also took aim at the torrents of abuse politicians face online, calling for a “public sphere where debate is constructive and courteous, and where we treat each other with decency”.

The 100th anniversary of women being granted the vote should be marked with a “vow to eliminate all prejudice and discrimination from our society”, she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn used his message to attack the “self-serving elite” and the “failed system” that rewards the rich and makes life harder for ordinary people.

He said: “The old political consensus is finished. We are staking out the new centre ground in British politics, backing the things which most people want but are blocked by vested interests.

“We are a government-in-waiting, while the Conservatives are weak and divided and stuck in an outdated rut with no new ideas.

“The hope of a new Britain, run in the interests of the many, not the few, is closer than ever before.

“Together we can, and we will, deliver it.”