British politics after Theresa May

THERESA MAY strode out of the door of 10 Downing Street in a crimson business suit and bowed to the inevitable. Having failed three times to get her Brexit deal through a hopelessly divided parliament, and confronted with a Tory insurrection over her proposed fourth attempt, she announced on May 24th that she would step down as leader of the Conservative Party and Britain’s prime minister.

“It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret for me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” she declared. She then urged MPs to find the spirit of compromise. Had she left it there it might have been remembered as a dignified exit at the end of her dogged prime ministership. Instead she tried to set out her legacy—listing, among other things, measures to limit plastic waste—and only highlighted how little she managed to do. Then, as she gave thanks for the “honour of my life”, a prime minister often derided as “Maybot” shed a tear and left.