May learns a very hard lesson

The giant aftershocks of the EU referendum continue to run through British politics, shaking pillars that once seemed wholly firm, demolishing walls that once seemed safe.

This momentous and disturbing election forces Britons to ponder hard where now to turn. Thursday’s vote has greatly altered the conditions in which Britain approach negotiations on leaving the EU, now only a few days away.

The Mail on Sunday supported the “remain” side in the referendum. We then accepted the clear verdict of the people, which was our plain duty as consistent supporters of democracy and the rule of law.

We gave our thoughtful backing to Theresa May when, to our surprise, she chose to call an election. We thought it was reasonable for her to ask for a mandate on her Brexit policy, the justification she gave for the early election. We urged her to take this opportunity to broaden her appeal, and to seek to speak for the millions, like us, who had opposed Brexit, accepted the referendum result but still expected their hopes and fears to be taken into account.

Alas, this was an opportunity she rather definitely did not take in a campaign startling for its narrow, dogged nature. She has never yet moved from her mantra of “Brexit means Brexit”, and her worrying fallback position that “no deal is better than a bad deal” even though their stiff-necked, chilly implications went against her own better nature.

It was as if she was trying too hard to please the zealots while forgetting to comfort or reassure the great majority of reasonable voters who remain open to workable compromise and recognise that half a loaf is, in fact, a great deal better than no bread at all.

Although she managed to garner more votes than Tony Blair attracted in his 1997 heyday, her campaign was beyond doubt a dismal failure. London, June 11.