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Wednesday 15 May 2019

Is May one of the worst prime ministers?



Sky asks the obvious question.

Sky Views: Will Theresa May be remembered as one of UK's worst prime ministers?

Theresa May is still in No 10 but this week even she seemed to acknowledge this is borrowed time, as the prime minister began to author an alternative legacy to the rather damning political obituary her party and the wider political class might well decide to write.

I don't know the answer to this question because we've had some real stinkers as PM - Blair and Brown spring immediately to mind. The problem is, if we bung the Brexit mess on May's shoulders we avoid wider questions about democracy and the covert role of establishment pressures on government business.

Brexit shows us that we have work to do on our democracy and it also shows us that far too many voters don't understand why. Mrs May may indeed be a stinker of a PM, but the wider problems we have with our democracy are not her doing. She is certainly part of the problem but voters keep on voting for stinkers and that is not May's doing either. 

6 comments:

Sam Vega said...

She might go down in history as an averagely good one, if the political class manage to spin the narrative in their favour. Dogged, determined, and finally managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by securing a last-minute cross-party support for her Withdrawal Agreement. All it would need is for sufficient Labour members to come across, realising that there is no future for them under Corbyn anyway. Despite the BBC still claiming her chances are slim to non-existent, the EU negotiators could suddenly "decide" to give way on the backstop and the deal could be done.

This is a good article by Alex Noble on how it might happen:

https://continentaltelegraph.com/brexit/swallow-your-pine-cone/

Frightening, really. If only we were as riotous as the French we wouldn't stand for any of this nonsense.

James Higham said...

It’s a good question - Blair, Brown, Major, Heath, Wilson, Ramsay Macdonald?

Angus Dei said...

Yep, but not as bad as the last "lady" Prime Monster, a certain M Thatcher.

Graeme said...

She is certainly one of the most creative, in the sense of manipulating party rules and the unwritten constitution. May v Bercow is like watching a chess match between people making the rules up as they go along

A K Haart said...

Sam - thanks I've bookmarked the link. I have a sneaking admiration for May's dogged determination even though it is misplaced. Never give up has a certain appeal.

James - most of them really.

Angus - I don't agree, Mrs T sharpened the political landscape, making us more aware of political options rather than the dull grind of the status quo.

Graeme - like Blair without the charisma or the chutzpah.

Angus Dei said...

"sharpened the landscape" such as selling off "social Housing", selling off gas, electricity, water and the railways for the profit of the share holders.

Don't think so AK.