May: Now for the hard graft
PM marks first 100 days in office
AS ASSESSMENTS are made of Theresa May’s first 100 days as premier, she certainly deserves credit for stabilising the country following the manner of David Cameron’s resignation and for her business-like style of government. As Tory leader, Mrs May’s agenda on aspiration should also be applauded. Education remains the best route out of poverty, though the time likely to be spent arguing about the merits – or otherwise – of new grammar schools might be better spent on tackling the dearth of world-class teachers for example.
Time will also tell whether Government’s economic interventionism will yield more tangible results than George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse – next month’s Autumn Statement will set the political parameters for the rest of the decade.
Equally Mrs May’s sound intentions on domestic policy are dwarfed by the elephant in the room – Brexit – and her first EU summit was a reminder that this one issue, and final outcome, will determine the Prime Minister’s place in history. Leaving aside a dysfunctional EU which always seems to discuss affairs of state in the middle of the night, rather than a more civilised hour, the Tory leader was quite correct to remind her counterparts that Britain is still a fully paid-up member of the European Union and should be treated as such until Article 50 is invoked.
In her asserting authority, it was also significant that more people – 46 per cent – think that Mrs May will secure a good Brexit deal for Britain than those who do not (39 per cent). While the first 100 days has established Mrs May as a leader, and stateswoman, the next 100 days will determine whether she can make sense of the UK’s exit from the EU with a waferthin Commons majority as her myriad of opponents find their voices. It’s a formdiable task only made marginally easier by her calm approach thus far.