Brexit has become a subplot to the battle for the post-May Tory party | Martin Kettle

Once again Europe is going to bring down a Tory leader. But stalling Brexit makes its outcome ever-more uncertain

Until quite recently, it was still accurate to say that the central problem in British party politics was Brexit. This week, that has imperceptibly but now decisively changed. Now, and probably for much of the coming summer, the central problem in British party politics is no longer Brexit itself but the character of the post-Theresa May Tory party.

May’s decline from the now hard-to-recall autumn of 2016, when she enjoyed the confidence of 87% of Tory voters and 54% of the whole electorate has been long and slow. The mishandling of the needless election of 2017 resulted in enormous self-inflicted damage. But even as the diminished May continued to battle on into the early part of this year to get her withdrawal agreement adopted, British politics was still essentially about Brexit rather than her.

If the situation facing Britain was not now so serious, there would be an irony in the approach that May has adopted

Related: May's offer was neither 'new' nor bold. It will be her final failure | Tom Kibasi

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