My ‘person of the year’? Theresa May

The newspapers are full of end-of-year round ups, photographic highlights of the year and so on. And I thought I would add to the melee by mentioning my ‘person of the year’. There are plenty of people who I could think of who have made my year more interesting, more enjoyable and more besides. But one person stands out for having made all of this even vaguely bearable in the first place.

My person of the year is — without doubt — Theresa May.

It’s slightly surprising because I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Prime Minister. Like most other people I have had – and will keep having – my criticisms. Her decision to call a general election earlier this year was obviously not only a disaster, but that rarest of things: something which showed Gordon Brown to have been wise.

But the PM is my person of the year for a single thing which deserves to be lauded. After she lost the election the PM could have done one obvious thing and resigned. Several accounts suggest that it was seriously considered. The PM had been under extraordinary pressure, bet the house and failed to win. For most people this would be an understandable personal as well as political humiliation. But May did something an entire generation of male Conservative politicians has failed to do. She stayed.

If bolting had not become such a male Tory pastime just think of the people who would still be in positions of power. The present cabinet could include any number of people, from the excellent Michael Portillo to the rather less excellent – but still experienced – William Hague. Instead of earning money from the Chinese it could still hold David Cameron in some senior cabinet position.