Thatcher's shadow looms large over May
- Published
Theresa May has insisted there is not alternative to her Brexit deal
In musing over the weeks and years on the Tory tribulations, I have had occasion more than once to borrow a phrase associated with Margaret Thatcher.
She and her acolytes were much given in the early 1980s to advance the view that "There is No Alternative". Or TINA, for short.
That referred to her reluctance to U-turn on economic policy. Theresa May uses a comparable argument with regard to her Brexit negotiations.
No serious contender to replace her deal. No deal that does not contain the Ireland backstop, loathed by so many. No alternative.
It occurs to me today that there is another phrase from the Thatcher era that still resonates. That is the description "not one of us".
When Mrs T used that phrase in her private discourse, she meant those in the party who were not wholly sold on her monetarist economic policy, and its consequences.
She meant internal rivals. The enemy within, if you like.
Shift the obstacle
That phrase, that sentiment, lies behind some of the momentum which has now resulted in a confidence vote in Theresa May's leadership of the Conservative Party.
There will be those who yearn to take the PM's job for themselves. They have perhaps pursued such an ambition from the very outset of the Brexit debate, adapting their behaviour and their comments to suit.
Margaret Thatcher was brought down by internal disquiet over her leadership
There will be those who have signed the letter questioning Mrs May's leadership because they are in despair at the blockage in the Commons and imagine that a leadership challenge may shift the obstacle. May do something, anything!
Then there will be those for whom this is ideological. The Conservative Party is now fundamentally riven by the fissure over attitudes to the European Union. They are Remainers and Leavers, before they are Tories. For now, at least.
Zealous leaver
And that is where the phrase "not one of us" comes in. For the most ardent Leavers, Theresa May is de facto "not one of us". She campaigned for Remain. She voted to Remain.
They suspect, further, that she has conducted these negotiations in the spirit of a Remainer, determined to sustain as close a relationship with the EU as possible.
Theresa May campaigned and voted to remain within the European Union
They suspect that, in doing so, she has had the active collaboration (they would use that word) of a civil service resistant to the Leave project.
In vain does she protest that she has sought to respect the verdict of the British people.
In vain does she stress that her deal returns control of UK laws, money and borders. In vain do other analysts argue that, in reality, her negotiation has veered rather towards the hard Brexit favoured by the most zealous Leaver, in pursuit of declared Red Lines.
Last-minute revision
Those ideological internal critics suspect that she does not truly hold the faith. She is not thirled to the concept of quitting the EU. She is "not one of us". Hence, partly, the challenge.
Which leaves two questions, with a range of factors. One - will she survive? She might win outright or lose outright.
Or she might win tonight's vote - but like Margaret Thatcher in 1990 - be ultimately brought down by the extent of internal disquiet with her leadership.
Two - would replacing her as leader make any difference to the deal? Will Brussels listen - and, more importantly, change the negotiated text - if another voice, perhaps louder, perhaps more strident, makes the case for urgent, last-minute revision?
Or will they continue to say No? Translated into the other 23 official EU languages.
- Published12 December 2018
