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Politics

15th Nov 2018

On Theresa May’s day of reckoning, familiar platitudes ring hollow

What I'm doing, is getting on with the job of writing this article

Oli Dugmore

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a Brexit statement at Downing Street on November 14, 2018 in London, England. Theresa May addresses the nation after her cabinet of senior ministers met and approved the wording of the draft Brexit agreement which will see the UK leave the European Union on March 29th 2019. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

What I’m doing, is getting on with the job of writing this article

Three hours in the House of Commons, two cabinet ministers tender their resignations, one letter of no confidence from Jacob Rees-Mogg.

And yet, by the end of a press conference at Downing Street, Prime Minister Theresa May had absolutely nothing to say.

“Serving in high office is an honour and privilege, it is also a heavy responsibility,” she started. “That is true at any time, but especially when the stakes are so high. Negotiating the UK’s withdrawal from the EU after 40 years is a matter of the highest consequence.”

Fuck. She’s not resigning, surely.

No, no she’s not. In fact she’s doing the opposite. Trudging forward through the mud of Westminster. One could argue it’s a bit of a masterstroke to deliver a press conference devoid of emotion as battle rages all around her.

So that is what she did. The usual cyclical answers. Blithe without the joy, inane if the fate of the nation wasn’t actually hanging in the balance.

“What I’m doing is getting on with the job of…”

“To deliver a Brexit that works for the whole of the UK…”

You know the rest because you’ve heard it all before.

On this day, her day of reckoning, Theresa May said all she could – nothing.