Query: Theresa May was elected as MP for Maidenhead.

Relevant passages:
United Kingdom general election, 1997 <=SEP=> The United Kingdom general election of 1997 was held on 1 May 1997 , five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992 , to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons . Under the leadership of Tony Blair , the Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition and won the general election with a landslide victory , winning 418 seats , the most seats the party has ever held , and the highest proportion of seats held by any party in the post-war era .   The election saw a huge 10.2 % swing from the Conservatives to Labour on a national turnout of 71 % and would be the last national vote where turnout exceeded 70 % until the 2016 EU referendum was held nineteen years later . Blair , as a result , became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , a position he held until his resignation in 2007 .   Under Blair 's leadership , the Labour Party had adopted a more centrist policy platform under the name ` New Labour ' . This was seen as moving away from the traditionally more left-wing stance of the Labour Party . Labour made several campaign pledges such as the creation of a National Minimum Wage , devolution referendums for Scotland and Wales and promised greater economic competence than the Conservatives , who were unpopular following the events of Black Wednesday in 1992 .   The Labour campaign was ultimately a success and the party returned an unprecedented 418 MPs and began the first of three consecutive terms for Labour in government . However , 1997 remains the last election in which Labour had a net gain of seats . A record number of women were elected to parliament , 120 , of whom 101 were Labour MPs . This was in part thanks to Labour 's policy of using all-women shortlists .   The Conservative Party was led by incumbent Prime Minister John Major and ran their campaign emphasising falling unemployment and a strong economic recovery following the early 1990s recession . However , a series of scandals , party disunity over the European Union , the events of Black Wednesday and a desire of the electorate for change after 18 years of Tory rule all contributed to the Conservatives ' worst defeat since 1906 , with only 165 MPs elected to Westminster , as well as their lowest percentage share of the vote since 1832 .   The party was left with no seats whatsoever in Scotland or Wales , and many key Conservative politicians , including Defence Secretary Michael Portillo , Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind , Trade Secretary Ian Lang , Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth and former ministers Edwina Currie , Norman Lamont , David Mellor and Neil Hamilton lost their parliamentary seats .   However , future Prime Minister Theresa May was elected to the safe Conservative seat at Maidenhead , and future Speaker John Bercow in the seat at Buckingham . Following the defeat , the Conservatives began their longest continuous spell in opposition in the history of the present day ( post -- Tamworth Manifesto ) Conservative Party , and indeed the longest such spell for any incarnation of the Tories/Conservatives since the 1760s , lasting 13 years .   The Liberal Democrats , under Paddy Ashdown , returned 46 MPs to parliament , the most for any third party since 1929 and more than double the amount of seats they got in 1992 , despite a drop in popular vote . The Scottish National Party ( SNP ) returned 6 MPs , double their total in 1992 .   As with all general elections since the early 1950s , the results were broadcast live on the BBC ; the presenters were David Dimbleby , Peter Snow and Jeremy Paxman .

Theresa May <=SEP=> Theresa Mary May ( née Brasier ; born 1 October 1956 ) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2016 . She has been the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Maidenhead since 1997 and Leader of the Conservative Party since July 2016 . She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative leader after Margaret Thatcher .   The daughter of a vicar , May grew up in Oxfordshire . From 1977 until 1983 , she worked for the Bank of England , and from 1985 until 1997 at the Association for Payment Clearing Services , also serving as a councillor for Durnsford in Merton . After unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994 , she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election . From 1999 to 2010 , May held a number of roles in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague , Iain Duncan Smith , Michael Howard and David Cameron , including Shadow Transport Secretary and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary . She was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003 .   After the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election , May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities , giving up the latter role in 2012 . Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election , she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previously . During her tenure she pursued reform of the Police Federation , implemented a harder line on drugs policy including the banning of khat , oversaw the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners , the deportation of Abu Qatada , the creation of the National Crime Agency and brought in additional restrictions on immigration .   Following Cameron 's resignation on 24 June 2016 , May successfully contested the Conservative leadership contest and became Prime Minister on 13 July . As Prime Minister , May 's focus has primarily been on withdrawing the UK from the European Union . On 18 April 2017 , May announced a snap general election for 8 June .