Mrs T May (Headmistress)

Mrs T May (Headmistress)

Mrs May has fought hard to ensure that she has a free hand in the Brexit negotiation. While repeating the mantras "sovereignty" and "the will of the people", she has insisted that Parliament and the people have no say in the deal, nor can they require any pre-conditions, such as guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens.

Is Mrs May a power-mad dictator, or is she maybe a crusader, convinced her beliefs are right and anyone who disagrees is simply wrong?

A dictator? No - at least not yet, though she already shows some of the characteristics: control-freakery, punishing external and internal criticism, banning dissent. However, she refused Mr Johnson's request for water cannon to 'control' protesters and has restored at least the show of cabinet government. It is worrying that she refers to "the will of the people" (a popular refrain for demagogues and dictators), and that the cabinet meetings may be mostly rubber-stamping decisions already taken, however she has actually achieved very little so far, and seems unclear about what she does want to achieve. Hardly the marks of a dictator.

A crusader? Again, her shilly shallying does not support this. Her JAMs, for instance, were here today and gone tomorrow.

In fact Private Eye has made a spot-on diagnosis, with their column "The Headmistress Writes". Mrs T May (Headmistress) accurately captures her approach. Nanny knows best, chin up, discipline is good for you, no moaning. She will listen to the staff, the parents and the pupils (though the doddery old governors are a nuisance), but it should be up to her to make the final decision.

Her upbringing as the daughter of an Anglican vicar means that she sees the people of this country as her flock, to be treated with respect, but ultimately to be guided down the 'right' path. The Church is hierarchical and paternalistic, it knows what is best for its members - though it is often unclear on how to achieve it - and so strongly discourages debate and squashes dissent (some branches labelling it heresy and taking extreme measures against it). It intensely dislikes any external scrutiny, to the extent of covering up serious crimes within its ranks (such as child abuse) so as to avoid any public investigation.

Mrs May's respect for her father and his work in his parish drives her to reproduce this on a national scale. She knows what is best for us, she is intolerant of dissent - having her own personal 'enforcers' - she is secretive, very hard working, and wants what is best for us as individual people not just as a nation.

Will she succeed? Or will her attention to detail mean sight of the larger picture is lost? Is she our guide through difficult times or the Queen of Misrule?