May calls on Britain to give her strong mandate to stand up to France's Macron

Prime Minister Theresa May Monday called on Britain to give her a landslide victory in next month's general election to enable her to meet France's newly-elected president on an equal footing.

Her plea came as a new poll gave her Conservatives a record 22-point lead over political rivals, the Labor Party.

Addressing a rally at Harrow, May said Emmanuel Macron was elected Sunday with a strong mandate "which he can take as a strong position in the Brexit negotiations".

May said Britain needs to ensure it has an equally strong mandate and an equally strong negotiating position.

She said backing for her will strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations to work out a future relationship with the European Union when Britain leaves.

May said she wants to "sit down" with Macron and discuss the Le Touquet agreement, under which British border officials can carry out border checks in France.

During his French presidential election campaign, Macron said the Le Touquet agreement "must be renegotiated".

During her visit to Harrow, May indicated that the Conservatives in its election manifesto to be published next week will again promise to cut net migration to the tens of thousands.

She agreed migration levels were having an impact on public services and low-paid workers in Britain.

High levels of immigration into Britain from the EU and non-EU countries was cited by many people as a key reason they voted last June to leave the EU. The Conservatives promised in their election manifestos in 2010 and 2015 elections to slash net migration.

Although provisional figures show that net migration has fallen in 2016, it is still around the 300,000 level. The figure is the difference those arriving in Britain and those leaving.

Meanwhile the Daily Mail newspaper in London reported Monday that May's Conservative Party has opened up a record 22-point lead over main rivals, Labor after her dramatic assault on "meddling" Eurocrats.

"The Conservative have hit 49 percent in the latest ICM research, with Jeremy Corbyn's Labor party well behind on 27 per cent," said the report.

"It is the biggest gap found by the firm in more than three decades of tracking public opinion," said the Daily Mail, adding the survey of voters in Britain was conducted in the wake of Mrs May's jibe at Brussels officials over toxic briefings," said an editorial.

It added that if the lead in the poll was translated into parliamentary seats it would potentially give May a majority in the House of Commons of more than 170, compared to the 17-seat majority she held until parliament was dissolved two weeks ago. Endit