The making of the Maybot

I first christened Theresa May ‘The Maybot’ after an interview she had given on a trade mission to India in November last year. Even by her own low standards it was a car crash. ‘Have you made any plans for a Brexit transitional deal?’ inquired a Sky News reporter.

Whirr. Clunk. Clang. The Maybot’s eyes rotated into life. ‘I’m focusing on delivering Article 50,’ she replied, unable to prevent herself from answering an entirely different question. Inside the Maybot, the last shards of the real Theresa were fighting to get out. She was not a number. Especially not 350 million. She was a person in her own right. She did still have a mind of her own. Then the malware took over again.

For several months after she had become prime minister, Theresa May had managed to get along by repeating ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and ‘No deal is better than a bad deal’ whenever she was questioned about when Britain would be leaving the EU, and on what terms.