Who knew that Theresa May could be such a control freak? Not only does she absolutely insist on being kept in the loop whenever you so much as meet with a foreign power (she also wants to dictate the meeting’s agenda as if a cohesive foreign policy is more important than an individual minister showing off their personal clout) but if you happen to work for her, the PM will insinuate herself into all sorts of unexpected life decisions.
Theresa has seen fit to institute a dress code (the details of which have been surprisingly hard to track down/I can’t be bothered to make up) but the arena in which she is overwhelmingly overbearing is what her minions choose to eat. As far as she’s concerned, the logic is totally straightforward. Theresa May is in such a situation that she can’t cope with losing a single member of her not at all weak and wobbly cabinet.
Unfortunately, she isn’t in charge of the narrative when it comes to pesky things like sex scandals and international gaffes that endanger the lives of British citizens overseas (Boris is complete trash and deserves nothing whatsoever, let along the shreds of power he’s been able to cling onto). But Theresa absolutely can ensure that her people stay hale and hearty through good diets and plenty of exercise.
This eventually proved to be a bit too much control for Priti Patel. She found herself chafing at constantly having to justify every last cheeky Nando’s and delicious burger just because they didn’t fit in with the meal plan provided. So the natural response was to cook up a halfcocked scheme on holiday to meet with folk in Israel, promise them whatever they wanted as long as it was in conflict with what the UK had decided and then no one would blame her for quitting.
The Ros Martin Archive 