Achievement to counter her election fiasco

to march through the division lobbies in support of Corbynconceived policies.

Rival party leaders will be reluctant to invest their own political capital in deals with the Conservatives if it is unclear whether Mrs May can command the loyalty of rank-and-file Conservative MPs.

There is an element of tragedy here. Cross-party collaboration and consensus are needed to tackle the giant challenges that confront Britain.

The perception of crises in England’s NHS, its social care system and its housing market may be a key reason why so many voters gave Mrs May the shock of her life and voted for a Labour Party led by someone who until recently suffered abysmal poll ratings.

If she had won a landslide and had the power to unilaterally remake entire institutions then opposition parties might be more enthusiastic about contributing ideas.

But the realpolitik of Westminster means there is no rush to ride in Mrs May’s bandwagon.

Meanwhile, her party is in danger of retoxification. Her deal with the DUP will make it harder to win the support of Liberal voters next time round and an MP’s use of a grossly offensive racist term will set back efforts to win the trust of ethnic minorities.

MPs have yet to latch onto a potential leader who has the charisma, brains and vision to reboot the party – and Brexit divisions make it hard to imagine anyone exciting every clan within the Tory tribe.

But if the party looks as if it is on the road to electoral immolation the search for a successor will begin in earnest and the autumn conference could become a talent contest.

Mrs May was in trouble before she delivered her much-hyped speech and her pledge to act with an “unshakeable sense of purpose” has not changed that.