March 8, 2024 - 3:45pm
Theresa May has become the latest MP to announce she is leaving the Commons. It’s unsurprising, really: she is nearing 70, will never hold major office again, and will gain little from a term on the backbenches of Opposition. Per her announcement, she can now find more satisfaction in charity work around modern slavery. More than that, however, stepping away from politics allows her to continue the rehabilitation of her reputation.
All political careers may end in failure, but now it seems that many come with a surprising afterlife. The sins of holding office are gradually expunged, and an imaginary quality plastered on. This seems especially true of those who held the highest office and now enjoy lengthy retirements retconning their public image.
For May, this has already begun, helped by the shower of successors in her wake. Among the commentariat, her time is often lauded as one of moderation and decency, before the collapse instigated by the libertine Boris Johnson, the chaos of Liz Truss, and the ineffectiveness of Rishi Sunak. That is, in fact, a myopic reading of recent history.
Through her tenure as home secretary and prime minister, May was no centrist darling. At the Home Office she launched the “hostile environment” and the famous “Go home” vans. As prime minister she was seen as exacerbating, rather than soothing, post-Brexit divisions with her remarks about “citizens of nowhere”. It is only because of where the Conservative Party has moved afterwards that she receives this sort of acclaim.
Equally, most of the failings of her leadership have been erased from memory. As Home Secretary, she was responsible for many of the cuts which are now undermining the criminal justice system. She stripped out thousands of officers in the name of austerity, while also failing to address the many institutional failings that are now becoming glaringly apparent.
As prime minister she was more of a failure, and in both politics and policy she bungled her main goals. In 2017, her Tory Party turned a huge polling lead into a minority government, leaving her in an almost impossible position. This triggered the carnage of 2018 and 2019 as she struggled to get a Brexit deal though. Buffeted between the various wings of her party, she tried again and again to find some solution, but was rebuffed by Parliament at every stage. Eventually, she succumbed to her political wounds and left office, largely derided as one of the worst PMs ever.
The only thing that has changed since then is adding new names to the list. Fortunately for May’s reputation, they have been bigger failures in their own ways. Compared to Johnson, she looks like a saint upholding national interest above her personal vices, while she’s more capable than Truss and popular than Sunak. By walking away now she capitalises on this, and her reputation will largely be better for the events of the last five years.
This is perhaps not uncommon for ex-prime ministers in the modern age. John Major is now seen as a sensible elder statesman, despite the failure of his unpopular, scandal-ridden premiership. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have moved past their mistakes, while David Cameron is even back in government. Time has allowed each a re-evaluation, but this has been enhanced by the mess of our current politics. Perhaps therein lies the real truth — that legacies are less a reflection of what politicians do, and more of the times from which we look back on them.
Theresa May has benefited from this attitude most of all. Her stint at the top seemed short and ineffectual back in 2019. What came after, however, has been a boon to her reputation. Now, as she steps out of the Commons altogether, she will likely keep polishing this version of events.
John Oxley is a corporate strategist and political commentator. His Substack is Joxley Writes.
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SubscribeI have a lot of sympathy for her. She took the poison chalice of Brexit and tried to do her best with it, whilst undemocratic cowards like Starmer did their best to ensure she got the worst deal possible, whilst pretending to honour the democratically expressed will of the people. At least the (il)liberal (un)democrats were honest in their approach to ignoring the will of the people.
“Her best”, she appointed Cabinet Ministers and then allowed Robbins to sabotage them with an independent pass to bypass them to the EU side. Once she had done that it was a clear message to opponents of Brexit who tied her up in parliament and elsewhere the biggest betrayal was of the electorate who voted for Brexit. The bitter irony, she promoted her PR as a practicing christian not unlike Paula Vennals. One might offer God help us but he is on the side of the unprincipled and definitely unGodly.
It was never in Labour’s interest to take any care of the Brexit baby. That mess was all of the Tories’ making so of course Starmer was going to make them hold the poisoned chalice.
Even then she committed the fundamental error of bending to the fruitcakes and loonies and triggered article 50 early. That more than anything ensured we got the worst deal possible. Nothing to do with the baddies on the left.
It’s shameful to try and spin it that way. It is a right wing conservative failure through and through all based on lies, deception and fantasy.
And as a side note I assume you’ll be supporting Starmer all the way as he tries to renegotiate the relationship in 25/26 to something along the lines of what May wanted!
Why was triggering Article 50 responsible for a poor deal “more than anything”? Our negotiators weren’t aiming for a good one, it would probably have taken even longer to reach a poor deal.
It is no more “shameful” blaming the baddies on the left than the opposite considering that “lies, deception and fantasy” are pretty standard political tactics, especially when there is big divide. The Treasury forecasts and the Government’s propaganda pamphet delivered to all households were deceitful and paid for by all of us.
She has also been an outstanding ambassador for ‘National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society’ NRAS
The ‘moderation and decency’ was that of the majority of British MPs, which is to say none whatsoever given she voted consistently for bombing and sanctioning foreigners, exporting arms to despots and enabling tax-evasion globally.
It’s unfortunate her proposals for a cap on social care costs got derided and cancelled, this was a tough nettle to grasp and seemed like a good idea.
Astronauts were expected to have ‘the right stuff’ – the qualities needed to do or be something, especially something that most people would find difficult.
It’s been a long time since any Prime Minister could claim to have ‘the right stuff’. Theresa May is no exception. She knew what BREXIT meant (see the Lancaster House speech) but failed to make others align with the vision.
She became PM on a mandate of taking back control, yet determined that her legacy would be to legislate to make Net Zero a legally binding obligation, thereby handing control of energy policy from parliament to the judiciary. Her “red, white, and blue Brexit” would have tied the UK to EU standards, law and trade arrangements without any input into their formulation. Her only memorable sound bite – “the nasty party” – was used as a stick to beat the Tories for years. Wildly overpromoted: the number of candidates for worst ever prime minister has burgeoned in recent years, but she is right up there.
Not a good PM, but perhaps the least objectionable of the Tory ones we’ve had since 2010. I guess I feel more anger at Johnson, Truss and Sunak because they have a large majority but have completely wasted it.
In fairness to May too, at the 2017 election, the Tories actually won more votes than Labour did in any of their landslides between 1997 and 2005. She was unfortunate that the Labour vote turned out quite considerably in 2017. The Tories under Johnson only got a few hundred thousand extra votes in 2019. The key was Labour lost 2.5 million votes between the two elections.
Who cares ?
She was never up to the job. The real failing here was that a majority of Tory MPs were either too stupid to spot the obvious or willingly chose to look the other way.
Yes, her predecessors are doing a bang up job of making her seem better than she was. But sometimes appearing better than them is no recommendation.
If she’s known her limitations, she could have been an very good backbench MP.
John Major always seemed to me a decent chap making the best of a tough situation. I think his public reassessment is quite fair.
Theresa May’s prime sin was the hideous error in calling an early election in 2017, as if the public would be minded to give any politician a blank check. She had a very difficult hand to play, but played it very badly.
Rishi has always been a goner. Not much he can do under the circumstances, ship was already sunk. I think like May he’ll probably end up with an over-generous reassessment, probably helped by the fact he is the first modern ethnic minority PM.
Liz Truss, like Rishi, was dead on arrival. She just managed to do herself in. I think she might have a hard time being rehabilitated.
Boris is the interesting one. He still has his fans. I suspect his various detractors will be thoroughly annoyed by the extent to which he is looked back with a certain fondness, if only for the sheer brass neck displayed.
May had the moment and opportunity to steer the nation to a ‘soft’ Brexit quickly and effectively which whilst some at either end of the spectrums would have continuously complained the rest of us would have settled down and got back to concentrating on more important matters. She failed to do that and Country paid the penalty – economically, strategically and politically.
As Author notes her reputation has benefitted from the Buffoons that immediately followed her. It won’t remain like that as time passes.
May failed in her attempt to convert the U.K. into an EU colony. TFFT.
The consequence of Theresa May’s parliamentary career have been almost as catastrophic as those of Tony Blair and ‘Call-me-Dave’ David Cameron, and at least on a par with that of John Major. She has left behind a path of substantial destruction and failure (e.g. Brexit, the legal system, an under-resourced, misdirected police force, etc.). Above all, she ushered in the Woke Era which has vanquished Western civilisation and democracy forever and replaced it with a force of evil whose ultimate consequences we will thankfully not live to experience. the first five years have been horrendous enough!
May was a huge disappointment. Unlike Johnson she brought about her own downfall and failed to deliver anything worthwhile.
Johnson’s reputation will be rehabilitated in time.