The boring mystery of Theresa May

Theresa May spent the weekend in Scotland and not even the civilised bit.

The Prime Minister was posted to the wilds of Aberdeenshire, which are handsome and underpopulated but not exactly a commuter hub. Journalists grumbled about the remoteness of the location, well aware that inaccessibility was the point. May has not been campaigning in this election so much as touring the nation’s emptiest rooms, occasionally bringing along another borough councillor who will be elected to Parliament in five weeks’ time.

The punters have been kept far away from the Prime Minister for reasons of security — political security. Party strategists have long memories. They remember the name Sharon Storer. Storer was the woman who confronted Tony Blair outside a Birmingham hospital during the 2001 election and harangued him about her partner’s treatment at the hands of the NHS. Blair tried his best to diffuse the situation but when an angry housewife meets a politician, there can be only one winner. Gesticulating at the Prime Minister as the TV cameras rolled, Storer spat: ‘All you do is walk around and make yourself known but you don’t do anything to help anybody.’ In a matter of minutes, she landed more blows on Blair than the Tories did in that entire election campaign.