Prime Minister limps on, but for how long?

So, embattled Theresa May lives to fight another day after seeing off the long-threatened vote of no confidence from dissatisfied elements within her own party.

She has — unfairly, according to those close to her — been branded “Maybot” for her robotic public appearances and ability to bat off any line of questioning with a frustratingly anodyne set of responses.

But if she is to be compared to any robot of popular culture, it should probably be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator: no matter the damage it took, it struggled on, determined to finish its quest.

In Mrs May’s case, that mission has become a singleminded determination to deliver on the result of the 2016 European Union referendum, while holding her fragmented party together.

She is determined she is the only person for the job. And in truth, her removal would have served little purpose.

A vacuum would have been created into which would seek to slide one of a cast of characters, each as unpalatable to the eternally-divided Conservative Party as the next.

Whether they had been a backer of hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no deal or remain, the new leader would still have had to face down those who disagree.

Meanwhile, new relationships with the European Union negotiating team and DUP partners would have had to be built, with no sign of their exit stance softening.

So, the chances of getting any kind of deal through Parliament are no better than those which saw Mrs May take fright earlier this week.

And as the poisoned Brexit chalice remains in Mrs May’s grasp, her problems are no closer to being resolved than before last night’s dramatic developments.

Perhaps her new, relative, position of strength can allow her to marshal enough support to push the deal through.

Or will her last act be to take the country back to the polls, for another general election or so-called People’s Vote?

In the end, the Terminator suffered one blow too many and shut down. Similarly, Mrs May cannot limp on forever.