Spinning stockpiling as comforting is the mark of someone who has lost her grip

stressful jobs in the world,” said BBC Five Live’s Phil Williams, “how do you cope and how do you unwind?” Mrs May let out a hollow, empty laugh that verged on the sarcastic – the kind that comes out of parents of newborns when innocently asked how they slept last night. Mrs May seemed to struggle for an answer, plumping eventually with cooking and watching the television show NCIS. “Erm, err. I like walking. Walking!” Walking is the go-to answer of anyone constitutionally incapable of relaxing. I know this, because it’s my answer, too.

The stockpiling was, for me, the final bit of confirmation that she needs help. I had suspected it for a while, in her cracked voice and her terrified stare – it