I always enjoy the beginning of Theresa May’s speeches: the analysis of the problem is always lucid, crisp, and well expressed. The difficulties usually emerge in the second half, when the solutions tend to either be leftovers from Ed Miliband’s manifesto or some half-baked reckons from the comments underneath a Mail article.
This speech was a departure from the usual. May laid out well the problems presented by Brexit, for both the European Union and the United Kingdom, and set out a reasonable and rational solution that could prove enduring. Listening to her, I was reminded of my own struggles with the New Statesman’s morning briefing, where I continually grapple with the need to avoid words like “win” “contest” and “big” in order to avoid tripping Whitehall’s firewall and prevent our readers getting their daily dose of Morning Call. The Prime Minister was doing something similar: trying to set out a sensible way forward for the United Kingdom after Brexit without using any of the keywords that make Brexiteers uneasy.
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