Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s caution about appearing weak has made her even weaker

Can Theresa May really solve the latest crisis affecting her leadership? Previously, her survival owed a great deal to Conservative backbenchers, who vowed to protect her against a badly-behaved Cabinet, but everyone is restless now. So what can she do?

The Prime Minister isn’t going to have a personality transplant, but this doesn’t mean that she is destined to continue doing absolutely nothing. She may never be able to conjure up small talk with her own MPs, but she has in the past shown that she can make bold decisions (the snap election was, admittedly, a bad example of this) and have a reforming zeal. The absence of any activity or vision for the domestic agenda is what has agitated Tory MPs quite so much in recent weeks. Indeed, I understand that some have grown so frustrated by the lack of thinking, let alone decision-making, on anything important, that they are starting to set up their own shadowy policymaking groups in order to try to present this Prime Minister or the next with something clear that they can get on with.

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