Theresa May is the beneficiary of low expectations. After last year’s debacle – a coughing fit, a collapsing stage, a conniving prankster – her speech will be deemed a success merely for avoiding this fate. (“You’ll have to excuse me if I cough during this speech; I’ve been up all night supergluing the backdrop,” she quipped.)
But the address was stronger in other respects too; the problem is that it was delivered by Theresa May. The Prime Minister’s rhetoric, as so often, was undermined by her record.
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