It really doesn’t take much these days for the media, or indeed any of her opponents to leap on the “deride and bring down the Prime Minister” bandwagon. Unfortunately, this was handed to them in spades at the recent Conservative Conference. All the important mission statements in her speech were lost in translation due to her persistent cough and the actions of the “infiltrator” who managed to bypass security and hand her the bogus P45 document. This was further compounded by the ill-timed malfunction of the glue on the letters board, but the whole farcical situation was partly mitigated by Hammond handing TM some well-known throat lozenges to relieve her symptoms and anguish. Her riposte, in fairness, was classic and generated a light relief moment for all those attending!
It wasn’t all bad though, indeed it could have been far worse had the PM lived in Roman times. If you hark back to the days of “I Claudius”, a well written and produced BBC series, you may recall the demise of the child Gemellus whose constant and irritating coughing leads to his beheading as a “cure” on the orders of Caligula. A situation narrowly and metaphorically missed by Theresa May! Which brings me to consider what her future might be.
Although many people declared her speech a success, it was presented at a time when the nation needed and still needs a clearer picture of how Brexit will proceed. In fact, where the UK will be heading to as a general plan for the next ten years. Ted Yarbrough pointed out the other day in his article, the imperative to find young up and coming new blood to take over from some of the older, less committed members of the Conservative Party, and he is right. Time and time again we hear that the Tories need to re-engage with the youth. It certainly needs to remove stale thinking and really engage in a serious brain storming session to reinvigorate the party, and if that means an urgent Cabinet reshuffle, then so be it.
I suppose one of the positives to come out of the recent political conferences would be Reckitt Benckiser’s potential profit. (RK being one of the Boot’s Healthcare International brands), Never before have I seen so much free advertising, or as the Americans say, (accidental) product placement. The company must have been delighted that their soothing lozenges, highlighted first by the Tories, and then reinforced by Nicola Sturgeon, who used a Strepsils pack as an amusing prop to kick off her SNP Conference speech. Let us hope, under these fortuitous circumstances, that Boots lodge hefty tax returns (which might partly fill the financial gap caused by the delayed Euro-Fighter order from the Saudis to BAE Systems).
On a more serious note the Conservatives really do need to up their game to repel all boarders, the thought of a Marxist Government has little appeal to me, and no doubt many others.
The Tories need to remember that old saying “It isn’t the cough that carries you off, but the coffin they carry you off in”. Please don’t do any more grave digging!