A show of strength

May’s resolve as close ally fired

IT IS both paradoxical and perverse, after a third Cabinet departure in two months, that Theresa May is strengthened by the manner of Damian Green’s departure from high office.

This, for the record, was her de facto deputy, closest confidante and a dear family friend to boot. Yet, after it was found that the First Secretary of State broke the Ministerial code by making untruthful statements about pornography found on his Parliamentary computer during a police raid in 2008, her response was authoritative.

Though some contend that the PM was too slow to act, she’s followed due process, and waited for the result of official inquiries, before acting decisively – her whole approach has been by the book.

For, while her decision has clearly caused personal pain, Mrs May has shown that she also expects her Ministers to maintain the highest standards of integrity despite the Government being bereft of a Commons majority.

It would also be naive of Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who believed that he would be PM by Christmas, to write off Mrs May. She has shown remarkable resilience, and the fact that Brexit negotiations are passing to phase two provides some muchneeded political credit and wriggle room. She does, for now, have the scope in the ensuing reshuffle to decide how she wants Downing Street to function – Mr Green co-ordinated policy – and how to overhaul her party’s electoral apparatus which proved so fallible on June 8. If she uses this power wisely, and makes sure that 2018 becomes a year of delivery, the longerterm prospects for both Mrs May, and the country, could still improve markedly.