Theresa May needs to face reality after the general election result
Now, having suffered the almost unthinkable ignominy of losing the majority she seemed certain to extend, Ms May’s first response shifted from the inane to the delusional. Speaking in Downing Street, the catchphrase morphed this time into “safe and secure”, and she repeated the need for “certainty”. She spoke about an agenda “for the next five years”, as though her position in the role were guaranteed beyond the next five weeks. There was no humility, no good grace; the Prime Minister seemed frankly divorced from reality. Not until she appeared for a second time, apologising to the MPs who had lost their seats, and offering contrite assurance that she will “reflect on what happened”, did Ms May show any sign that she understands the startling reverses her party has suffered.
Let us hope that such reflection helps the Prime Minister understand the crushing changes that have come thick and fast since that exit poll stunned us all. There has been no sign so far of any reassessment of her approach to hard Brexit, yet surely even this leader will struggle to pass off such a humiliating result as a mandate for her confrontational, uncompromising attitude to Europe, or of her willingness to take the UK out of the single market.
