No ceremony, just a blurred photo, to mark the end of a leadership tainted by failure
On her first day as Prime Minister, Theresa May appointed Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, and stood on the steps of Downing Street vowing to “fight against burning injustice” in Britain to build “a country that works for everyone”.
Two years, 10 months and 25 days later, her beleaguered leadership of the Tory Party ended unceremoniously yesterday – leaving her a Prime Minister in office but no longer in power as Mr Johnson waits in the wings as the favourite to succeed her.
Hidden away for the day in her Maidenhead constituency, there were no planned statements or speeches, only a blurred car shot to mark her final hours as leader of her beloved Conservative and Unionist Party.
Even the exchange of letters between Mrs May and the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPS was kept under wraps. In different circumstances, perhaps we might have borne witness to her parting words as she followed up on her tearful promise of May 24 to leave the job “it has been the honour of my life to hold … serving the country I love.”
But with Sir Graham Brady having stood down as chairman of the ’22 on the day Mrs May made her emotional resignation speech outside No 10 – amid speculation he might stand as her successor – it wasn’t even clear who she had addressed the letter to, let alone its contents. Instead, we had a
statement from “joint acting chairs” of the committee Dame Cheryl Gillan and Charles Walker saying they had “received notification from the Prime Minister … that she has resigned”.
Of course this was not her first “resignation”, which many have regarded as a long time coming despite her relatively short spell in office.
In December, she suggested she would be prepared to stand down before the next general election after surviving a no-confidence vote by 83.
Then two days before Britain was supposed to leave the EU on March 29, she offered to stand down if MPS voted for her Withdrawal Agreement. They didn’t – for a third and final time – leaving Mrs May with no choice but to extend Article 50 until October 31 and put a limit on her residency of No 10.
Now as her political career draws to a close, the only timetable anyone cares about is the one setting out the steps to replace her. The starting gun was fired last night with the call for candidates, and nominations close on Monday before Thursday’s first ballot. Further ballots are scheduled for June 18, 19 and 20 before hustings take place with a view to announcing the new leader by July 22.
In the meantime, Mrs May will remain Prime Minister and “acting” Tory leader, attending the G20 in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29. It comes after her statesmanlike performance at the recent D-day commemorations, where her heartfelt speech in praise of Allied veterans was lauded for its poignancy and sincerity.
Yesterday, it appeared to be business as usual, with Mrs May appointing Jake Berry as a business minister in addition to his role as a communities minister in a bid to beef up the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative. She will attend Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and continue to hold meetings with the Queen until the time comes to pass on the baton. She will remain as the MP for Maidenhead, where she was first elected in 1997.
Her bizarre final days in office are perhaps best summed up by her press conference with Donald Trump last week when, ever the stalwart public servant, she stood in silence as the US president humiliated her with references to his “friends” Mr Johnson and Nigel Farage.
To quote her predecessors Tony Blair and David Cameron, Theresa May was the future once but will soon be another footnote in history; another portrait on the Downing Street staircase, cruelly remembered as the Prime Minister who failed to deliver Brexit and left her party on the brink.