A few weeks ago I was chatting to a Minister about Theresa May’s strange reluctance to call a General Election she would win by a landslide. ‘Why is she waiting till 2020 to fight it?’ I asked. ‘How do you know she’s planning on fighting it?’ he replied.
I laughed, but then he explained his thesis. On entering Downing Street, the Prime Minister has discovered that being Prime Minister isn’t really for her. So she intends to serve out the rest of this parliamentary term, deliver a deal on Brexit, then ride off into the sunset.
‘She’ll be hailed as the person who saved the nation from its worst crisis since the war, then go off and enjoy her retirement with husband Philip,’ he said.
I checked his theory with another Minister. ‘I don’t know the exact timetable,’ he said. ‘But she’s certainly only a transitional PM.’ A third Minister agreed. ‘She’ll fight an Election, then be gone in 18 months.’
Mrs May is currently one of the most popular PMs in British political history. Her poll lead is nudging 20 points, her approval rating is 54 points ahead of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and she’s winning by-elections in areas that were previously bandit country for the Tories. Yet after only nine months in Downing Street, many colleagues are already starting to pen her political obituary.
Partly this is a product of the brutally truncated nature of the modern political life cycle. David Cameron became an MP, leader of the Opposition, Prime Minister and an ex-PM all in the space of 15 years. At 59, Mrs May was the oldest PM to take office since Jim Callaghan, whose own unhappy tenure lasted only three years. Going ‘on and on’ is not really an option for her.
More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-4415492/Could-Theresa-planning-exit.htmlIt's the Daily Fail, so pinch of salt needed.
