Charlotte Gill

Forget the ‘nasty party’, Theresa May has turned the Tories into the zombie party

Watching Education Secretary Justine Greening discuss grammar schools this week, I felt exasperated and in desperate need of a cognac. And it wasn’t because I’m opposed to grammar schools. No, there was something else bothering me: the cold air as Greening stared into the camera. It was the sort of look that could kill you slowly over time, especially when paired with such mechanical, uninspiring words. It left me as cold as Paul Nuttall’s head. And it was then I realised something: this is all Theresa May’s fault. She might have worried about the Tories being seen as the ‘nasty party’. She need not have done. Instead, she’s in danger of turning them into the zombie party.

When she took over from David Cameron in the heady days after the referendum, I’ll confess that I was excited. May seemed the perfect person to lead a country that had its knickers in a twist over Brexit, and many were inspired by her sensible, tough and emotionless approach.

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