Conservative party

In the days following David Cameron’s resignation as prime minister, Michael Gove tried to persuade the Cameroons to back Boris Johnson for the job. He argued that the former London mayor was the real continuity candidate. While Johnson would strike a very different path on Europe, Gove argued, he would keep Cameron’s domestic agenda going in a way that Theresa May would not. This was something Gove got right. But the referendum result was far too raw for this argument to work. The rest, as they say, is history. Since May became Prime Minister, it’s been clear that she does not represent continuity. May is her own woman.

Theresa May has picked the first defining fight of her leadership—and it is the same one that David Cameron chose. But, as I say in The Sun today, she has picked the opposite side from him: in favour of, not against, more grammar schools. Cameron’s opposition to more grammar schools infuriated many Tories, particularly those who were grammar school educated. They objected to a privileged public school boy telling them that they couldn’t be more of the schools that had done so much for them. May, by backing grammars, is sending out a very different message. She is showing these Tories that she’s one of them, a grammar school girl. As one Number 10 source puts it, ‘It is a bit of red—or blue—meat for the party’.

Theresa May spoke for almost half an hour before she actually mentioned the 'G' word: Grammar schools. But before she did so, the Prime Minister repeatedly uttered another word nearly a dozen times: meritocracy. May said she wanted Britain to become 'the great meritocracy of the world' and she said schools were the place to kick start that change. Her speech was a sometimes-reheated version of her first Downing Street address, but her message was clear: this is a bold shake-up of Britain's education system. The PM said grammar schools would be encouraged to grow and she vowed as well to kick over the obstacles in the way of new grammar schools opening. Yet it seems May spent longer justifying her policy than actually clarifying it.

Theresa May received the traditional desk banging reception when she addressed the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. May pleased Tory MPs by emphasising that they  would have more opportunity to feed into policy making process now through George Freeman and the policy board and the green papers that will---once again—precede white papers. But what most excited Tory MPs was what May said about opportunity and grammar schools. May said that she would give a speech on a 21st century education system soon, explaining how selective schools--in other words, grammars--fit into the mix. Strikingly, she defended an ‘element of selection’ arguing that there is selection already in the system, and it is selection by house price.

So, where are we at on Brexit? Well, we know that Theresa May wants immigration control as part of the deal which essentially rules out a Swiss or Norwegian style deal. But, as I report in The Sun, beyond that little is settled. As one Cabinet Minister said to me after the away day at Chequers this week, ‘The truth is that, at the moment, we’re still in the preparatory stage’. Cabinet Ministers were struck by how open the discussion was at Chequers. Unlike in the Cameron era, there was no early indication as to what the Prime Minister wanted the meeting to conclude. According to those present, one of the most forceful speakers was the Chancellor Philip Hammond. He emphasised that growth would be lower next year.

It’s been over a month since Theresa May stood on the steps of Downing Street. And yet the process of finding out what will define her government is moving slowly. We’ve had snippets of the direction in which it won’t be heading: her decision to put the brakes on Hinkley Point, at least for the time being, shows she won’t be pursuing the Osborne agenda. This has, too, been backed up by reports today that she won’t press ahead with plans for regional mayors with the same fervour as the former chancellor. Yet we’ve had only limited glimpses of what May will be aiming to implement. The catchphrase ‘Brexit means Brexit’ has already become well worn and parroted repeatedly by the PM.

Standing outside No. 10, our newly chosen — though not elected — Prime Minister decided to address the country directly. It was finally time, we learned, for a government dedicated to those who had been left out. ‘To those who feel the political system doesn’t listen and doesn’t care; to those who feel powerless and have lost faith; to those who feel Westminster is a distant place and politics simply a spectator sport: I will strive to earn your trust.’ These words — and other lines about parents juggling work and childcare — were perfect for Theresa May’s pitch of one nation Toryism. But they had been uttered before: by Gordon Brown in 2007, as he accepted his Labour leadership nomination.

Thoughtful writing about the Corbyn phenomenon is not just impossible to find, it is impossible to imagine. Admirers live in a land of make believe as closed to the rest of the world as North Korea. They barely know how to explain themselves to outsiders because they cannot imagine any honourable reason for outsiders disagreeing with them. Disputes with 'Jeremy'  must be the result of ideological contamination – you have become or, perhaps secretly always have been, a 'Tory' or 'Blairite' – financial corruption  – you have sold out – or racial corruption – you are a 'Zionist'. My colleague Janice Turner of the Times posted a copy of a leaflet Corbyn supporters are handing out in constituency meetings. They have an answer to every charge against him.

There was a good response to the call for poems on a political theme entitled ‘May day’ but the mood was overwhelmingly bleak despite the efforts of a relentlessly optimistic few, Tim Raikes and Alanna Blake among them. There was much to admire though, including a neat riff from Frank McDonald on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 — ‘Shall Maggie be compared to Theresa May/ Who is more cautious and more temperate?’, a ‘Jabberwocky’-inspired submission from Andrew Bamji and Alex Lynford’s clever Blakean turn. Nicholas Hodgson, Martin John, George Simmers, G.M. Davis, John Whitworth and Michael Copeman were on top form too. The winners are printed below and earn their authors £30 apiece. The extra fiver is Alan Millard’s.

There may be confusion about the role of EU immigrants in Westminster, but there’s none in Scotland. Our message is clear: this is your home, you are welcome here, your contribution is valued. Scotland needs immigration, and we’ve been delighted to welcome EU citizens here over the last few years and decades. They are the new Scots. They are our nurses, teachers, small-business owners and are an important and cherished part of our society. It’s quite understandable that people are aghast at Theresa May using EU immigrants as bargaining chips. But it is a chilling reminder of just how ‘nasty’ the Tory party still is.

The British public are clearly dissatisfied with the way our immigration system currently works. One of the main reasons that motivated people to vote for Brexit in the recent referendum is the hope that Britain could better control immigration by ending the free movement of people from the EU. For years now, immigration has been one of the issues that the public are most concerned about. But there is hope: now, more than ever, the cynicism can be cracked. There is an exciting opportunity, thanks to Brexit and the appointment of a new Cabinet, for the Government to introduce significant reforms to our immigration system to increase public confidence in it. What do the majority of the public want? Sensible stuff, unsurprisingly.

As we come to the end of Theresa May’s first full week as Prime Minister, she hasn’t quite been the Prime Minister Westminster was expecting. As I say in The Sun today, even her supporters thought that she would be solid, dependable but a bit dull—as befits someone whose sporting hero is Geoffrey Boycott. But May has shown quite a bit of flair in the last few days. She swept Jeremy Corbyn for six at PMQs on Wednesday; demonstrating a comic timing that we hadn’t seen from her before. On her European tour this week, she confidently showed off her language skills. So, what’s going on? Well, those who have worked with her for a long time says that becoming PM has given her confidence and brought her out of her shell.

Theresa May has been keen to stress that she doesn’t want this country or her government to be defined by Brexit. In her first week as Prime Minister, she has moved quickly to show that she isn’t going to be continuity Cameron. Her reshuffle made the cabinet less posh and more suburban than her predecessor’s. She has suggested that grammar schools might be on the way back, and national-interest tests could be introduced for foreign takeovers. Things are changing fast. May — and those around her — are modernisers. It’s just that they feel the previous modernisation was wrong.