PHILIP HER ROCK AND WHY SHE TOOK PLUNGE

Before she went off on an easter walking holiday with her husband Philip in Snowdonia National Park last week, Theresa May said in an interview: ‘Walking in Wales is an opportunity to get out and about... to see the scenery, clear your mind and your thinking.’

And it was on that break that the doubt and uncertainty she had been harbouring finally lifted like the mountain mist.

for some weeks, the PM had been grappling with her conscience over whether to heed the advice of senior ministers, aides and editors to call a snap General election — which would mean reneging on her many public promises not to do so.

But after five days in her husband’s company, her mind was made up. Not for the first time, Mrs May had turned to Philip — her most loyal adviser, who she met at oxford.

‘Before she went away, the PM was anxious she would be portrayed as breaking her word for opportunistic political gain by reacting to good opinion polls,’ said a senior source.

‘Philip gently urged her to call the election to give her more legitimacy in her negotiations with the eU and the SNP.

‘The Mays have a tremendous marriage. They are a team.’

The contrast in style with her predecessors at Number 10 as she deliberated this momentous decision could not have been more marked.

David Cameron tended to act only after consulting the public school chumocracy he surrounded himself with.

Tony Blair took decisions with his ‘sofa government’ of advisers, including thuggish spin doctor Alastair Campbell.

But Theresa May preferred to take stock with her husband in the rugged Snowdonia countryside.

What is equally telling about the PM’s style of government is that news of her intentions did not leak.

By the time Mrs May returned to London in the middle of last week she had confided in ten or so of her most dependable officials and Cabinet ministers.

The Prime Minister’s confidants included her joint chief-of-staff Nick Timothy, an adviser when she was Home Secretary, who is regarded as Mrs May’s brain and closest consigliere.

SHE also told fiona Hill, her other chief-of-staff: a tough, no-nonsense, media-savvy former Sky News journalist who was also at the Home office.

Mrs May told Chancellor Philip Hammond — as well as Boris Johnson, the foreign Secretary, and David Davis, the Brexit Secretary.

Sir Lynton Crosby, the Australian political strategist who masterminded David Cameron’s unexpected election victory in 2015, was also informed.

He warned her the Lib Dems, who have only nine MPs, will make gains in the south of the country, but that the Tories could advance at Labour’s expense in the North due to the collapse in the Ukip vote.

Sir Patrick McLoughlin, the Tory chairman, who will work side-byside with Sir Lynton, was also taken into the PM’s confidence. Many have long been pressing the PM to go for a snap election.

Nick Timothy and fiona Hill — dubbed the unofficial deputy prime ministers — had led the backroom pressure to go to the country.

Meanwhile, David Davis, who has forged a strong working relationship with the PM, had been pressing hard, arguing a large majority would give power to his and the PM’s elbows in negotiations with Brussels.

once Mrs May had informed her inner circle of her decision, she spent the weekend in her constituency home in Sonning, near reading. on Saturday night she was with her husband working on her papers and watching television.

It was with disbelief that, on Sunday morning, she read a newspaper column suggesting that she no longer enjoyed being Prime Minister, that her health was bad and that she was considering standing down!

Later that morning the Prime Minister went to her local church, St Andrew’s, for the easter Sunday service. The sermon, focusing on the importance of the resurrection, reinforced the PM and her husband in their conviction that she was doing the right thing. A vicar’s daughter, Mrs May’s faith is a huge part of her life.

After church it was back home to cook Sunday lunch for her husband before they returned to Downing Street in the evening.

The die was cast on Monday afternoon when the PM telephoned the Queen at Windsor Castle to tell her of her intention to go for an election on June 8. one official said: ‘The election date is after the Derby and before royal Ascot so the Queen will be happy.’

As Tuesday dawned, one or two of Mrs May’s officials began to suspect something was afoot. She emerged for her first meetings of the day in a new outfit. ‘It was a smart new haircut, too,’ said a senior source. ‘Something was up.’

AT A long-arranged Cabinet meeting yesterday, the Prime Minister dropped her bombshell and went round the table asking for views.

There was no dissent and party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin made a short presentation.

When the lectern was placed in Downing Street for Mrs May’s short public speech it was minus the usual Government crest — a clear indication that she was to announce party political business.

The shock in the media was testament to the very tight ship Mrs May runs and her refusal to give a running commentary on everything she’s doing.

‘How long do you think this would have stayed a secret under David Cameron?’ said one source.

Absent from Downing Street yesterday was Philip May, who had gone to work in his suit and trademark spectacles at Capital Group, a U.S. financial services company.

for him, it was another normal day in the office. The same can hardly be said for his wife.