May’s legacy is Bojo
GREEN IS GO FOR A POLL WIN PM’S promises of fairer nation lie in tatters
I REMEMBER Theresa May’s first speech as Prime Minister. It was impressive.
She stood on the steps of Downing Street and vowed to stamp out burning injustices, the gap in life expectancy between richest and poorest, racism, lack of home ownership. That stuff.
Later I had a drink with some Labour people. “This is not good,” said one, “She’s moving on to our ground. If she can get something done – making things fairer I think we’re in trouble.”
Turns out they needn’t have worried. It wasn’t the Labour Party that did for Mrs May, though. It was Brexit. Sucking all the oxygen out of politics. What could she do? A bad hand, they call it.
All those promises – with the notable exception of trying to reduce the gender pay gap – vanished.
Life expectancy for example. Apologies for putting you off your breakfast, but it’s not good news.
In fact, you know what? I won’t tell you. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Just keep enjoying your cornflakes, although if you live in certain areas of the North of England you might want to think twice about buying a big box.
Anyway. Theresa May leaves us this week with very little to talk about in terms of legacy, despite a last minute cash splurge. For a woman who was desperate for a legacy, y, that’s not great.
“Theresa May” ” and “failure” in Google gives ves you 33,800,000 results – 0.34 .34 seconds. “Theresa May” ay” and “disaster” 14,400,000 0 results
– 0.55 seconds. So what will we remember her er NEW polling shows we’re more worried about the environment than about Islamic State or owning a home.
The stats – from Engage Britain – show green issues have shot up the agenda in the last eight months. Climate change protests, stories about air for? There was a glimpse at PMQS this week that there might have been another side to her.
She launched herself at Corbyn over anti- Semitism, praised England’s cricket teams team and even got laughs. Maybe we all got her wrong. Nah.
I reme remember some loyalist of hers trying to t convince me after her “dancing” “dancin at party conference: “That’s what w she’s really like! She’s got a really rea dry sense of humour. In p private she’s funny and sharp,”sh but he was sweating and a had a wild look in his pollution, and Sir David Attenborough’s new programme will all have helped.
Interest is growing at the same rate among 18-24s and over 65s. So dismissing green fears as young peoples’ issues turns out to be rubbish.
We all care about what is eyes and the desperate manner of someone who corners you at a party to tell you the Lion King remake was great if you would only give it a chance.
The only legacy she’s left us is busy combing his hair in preparation for his coronation next week. If she’d managed to keep Boris out of Downing Street Mrs May might have been forgiven. Instead we are in for fresh hard times.
One of her biographers wrote: “Who knows, maybe Boris Johnson will achieve a miracle and inspire a whole country, as he does have that capacity – that charisma, that razzle-dazzle.” So happening to the planet. There are more moves to put climate change, recycling, clean energy at the heart of policymaking.
Maybe now that politicians realise we’re all becoming more concerned about the environment they will start to reflect this. as Theresa disappears with three clicks of her kitten heels and leaves us to it, “Don’t worry about it.” they say, “he’s going to be great. He’s the man who can bring back the feel-good factor, heal the country, settle Brexit. He’s the hero the country needs.”
Sounds great. Where is he?
“Erm… That’s not important.”
No, go on. Where is he? “At the moment he’s at the leadership hustings, waving a kipper around and shouting something about the Isle of Man.”
Razzle, ladies and gentlemen, dazzle.