Shropshire Star comment: Theresa May might still live but she bleeds

But her ‘victory’ can only be seen as a pyrrhic one.

With two thirds of Parliament now opposing her, it is difficult to see precisely where the PM will go forward from here.

She appears determined to forge ahead with her ridiculous Brexit plan, an agreement that had the Brussels bureaucrats popping champagne corks while the majority of people in Britain shook their heads in utter despair.

Even a blind man on a galloping horse can see the deal is dead in the water.

Its chances of getting through the Commons are virtually nil.

The issues that MPs have with the deal are many, but Mrs May seems to believe that receiving a few vague ‘assurances’ from the EU over the Irish backstop will solve all her current problems.

The mass opposition to her deal means that her steely determination – often viewed in a positive light – has started to wear thin.

Yesterday morning, she had looked focused and committed when defiantly vowing to fight the challenge to her leadership.

In Prime Minister’s Questions she appeared to be positively energised, albeit in the face of a particularly poor line of questioning from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But deep down Mrs May must be fully aware that a task that was always going to be difficult has now become near enough impossible.

Her latest in a litany of woeful decisions – to delay Tuesday’s meaningful vote – was the equivalent of pulling the rug from under MPs.

It took just 48 hours to unravel.

The Prime Minister will argue that she is the best person to get the country through Brexit, and that no-one else could do a better job than her.

But the fact is that Mrs May knew the challenge facing the country when she contested her party’s leadership election in 2016.

As a Remainer, it has long been clear that her heart is simply not in securing a clean departure from the EU.

Her continued protestations that she has secured the best deal available for Britain are nothing short of laughable.

And although she has undoubtedly been let down by certain past members of her Cabinet, not least the former Brexit Secretary David Davis, they are all people that she appointed in the first place.

So the buck stops solely with Mrs May.

Although she won last night’s vote, her premiership emerges significantly weakened.

Her problems will not go away after this.

In fact, they are likely to intensify with many of her own MPs now openly against her.

And many backbench Tories will not exactly be doing cartwheels at the prospect of facing the next General Election after Mrs May’s damaging administration.

While the Conservatives fight amongst themselves in Parliament, it is the people of this country that are being let down.

Britain voted to leave the EU, yet it is more than two years since the referendum and it is clear that our politicians have made a complete mess of getting us out.

The Conservatives have been incompetent and divided, Labour’s confusion and lack of a clear path has not helped, UKIP has imploded, while the Lib Dems have done nothing but attempt to force another referendum.

Theresa May has survived for now, but even she must realise that her time is almost up.