A year of knocks, of bumps and bruises

PM will reflectruefully on the past 12 months What price another election next year..?

Prime Minister Theresa May THERESA May, as she tucks into her roast turkey and Christmas pudding, will be reflecting, possibly a little ruefully, on the past year of bumps and bruises rather than the months of plain sailing she had hoped for.

And, as if events of the past year were not already dire enough for the Prime Minister, the shock, enforced resignation of Damian Green merely adds to her woes and presents her with an unwanted Cabinet reshuffle.

Green, whose sacking is related to alleged pornography on his parliamentary computer, is the third Cabinet Minister to be forced out within a few weeks, a “record” no Prime Minister can relish.

And it does nothing for her boast of “a strong and stable Government” and can be an unwelcome diversion from the Brexit negotiations.

May’s (as it turned out) catastrophic decision to hold a snap general election, set the difficult scene for the uncomfortable months that lay ahead.

All of which could have been avoided, the pundits said, with the benefit of hindsight.

The Cabinet approved of her decision, believing it would skewer the Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn. How wrong they were. However, there were a few seasoned Tories, Lord Cormack for one, who told her at the time of her announcement she was wrong and that no one should call an unnecessary general election.

But it was too late, the campaign (such as it was) was already up and running.

They were wrong, too, about the effect it would have on Labour.

Corbyn mounted an impessive campaign, exploiting the youth vote, and several times causing the Tories to tremble in their boots.

However, after shedding a few tears when she heard the exit poll findings, May buckled down, secured the help of the Ulster Democratic Unionists and battled on bravely with Brexit.

But the election result had weakened her negotiating strength in Brussels and the rebellion of 11 Tories earlier this month made the position worse.

However, she has a lot of fight in her - and although her Brexit team (David Davis and Liam Fox) is not as formidable as it might be, I think she will battle through to get a good deal for the UK. :