Britain | Bagehot

Britain’s new political sorcerer: the Reform Fairy

Forget the Magic Money Tree. Another mythical being rules British politics

Theresa May, a former prime minister, was an underappreciated wordsmith. “Brexit means Brexit” was magisterial in its circularity. “No deal is better than a bad deal” stuck around long after she no longer agreed with it. Of all the phrases she popularised, the most potent was: “There isn’t a Magic Money Tree.”

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Beware the Reform Fairy”

From the June 3rd 2023 edition

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