A couple of months ago I was a Theresa May fan. Yes an actual fan. I thought she was the safe pair of hands the country needed. She seemed unpretentious, down to earth, strong, self contained, diligent and hard working - all admirable qualities I thought.
But from the moment she announced the election she did everything possible to shatter my illusions. That manifesto - school meals, the fox hunting, the dementia tax ... what the hell was she thinking? It takes jaw dropping arrogance to present a manifesto like that - I can do what I like, be as punitive as I like, because I am so far ahead in the polls and so 'personally' popular that I can get away with anything.
The whole election campaign was run on presidential lines - all we saw was Theresa - everyone else was kept out of the picture with a couple of exceptions. And it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that Theresa was no campaigner. She was useless. Reading from a prepared speech in a staged event she's fine - but as 'herself' she's awkward, hesitant and unable to connect with her audience. Also the briefing she was given to stick to soundbites, to keep repeating the agreed mantra 'strong and stable' became stale and repetitive very early on and even though it clearly wasn't working ... they stubbornly stuck to the script. 'They' (as we now was just her and a small cabal of equally arrogant 'advisors') blundered on, right to the end. Such was their arrogance - and you can't call it anything else.
Now the truth is coming out, I can believe it. It was clear that someone was both feeding the ego and pulling the strings. Finding out yesterday (if reports are true) that Ruth Davidson was 'summoned to Downing Street' by Fiona Hill who demanded to know why she wasn't using the 'Strong and Stable' slogan north of the border and to 'stick to the script' and make the election campaign about Theresa May and Brexit. Davidson told her to shove it apparently - thank goodness someone did.
I remain a Conservative, but I no longer have any time for May. I don't feel sorry for her in the slightest because she brought all of this on herself. I don't particularly want a leadership contest now, but there needs to be one at some point. Given the mess she has created, she is duty bound to stay in place until some sort of order is restored out of this chaos. The very 'chaos' she warned us against - she has herself created.
History will not treat her kindly. She had this election in the bag and set about doing everything possible to lose it. That the Conservatives still managed to poll 43% of the vote is a miracle in itself, quite frankly.