Theresa May’s weakness is a virtue

Something rather remarkable happened yesterday: Theresa May had a good day. This counts as news and is itself testament to the miserable time she has endured since she became Prime Minister. Some of this – much of it, in fact – was her own fault. Or at least her own responsibility. If she had called an election in September 2016 it seems likely she would have been rewarded with a handsome majority and, just as usefully, a thumping mandate for her own interpretation of Brexit.

Delaying until June 2017, however, meant she missed her chance. By that stage the moment had passed. The election became another unwanted imposition. Voters, given hefty encouragement by a disastrous Conservative campaign and May’s evident distaste for the fray, rebelled, biffing the government on the nose. From that moment, she was a hobbled prime minister.

And yet, despite it all, she is still there. And Boris Johnson is not.