“All political lives,” said Enoch Powell, “end in failure.” For Theresa May, the agony of the ending, and the failure, has been drawn out for longer than usual. But in the coming days, it is certain that her premiership will draw to a close.

The Cabinet’s patience has been finally snapped by the Prime Minister’s latest tone-deaf Brexit proposal. Andrea Leadsom has resigned. MPs say there isn’t a single colleague who thinks the PM should continue.

Any Conservative made nervous by the prospect of regicide will find their minds made up by the European elections. The Government’s failure to deliver Brexit – and its continued attempts to deliver a Brexit deal seen by many Leavers as a betrayal – has unleashed Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party. They will top the polls today, and the Tories will be lucky to win 10 per cent of the vote. It will be their worst-ever performance in a national election.

Three years ago, when Theresa May first arrived in Downing Street, there were few signs that it would end this badly.

Her tenure as Home Secretary, which lasted more than six years, had been a success. She reformed the police and – despite budget cuts – reduced crime. She cracked down on extremists and – from deaths in custody to the Hillsborough disaster – she confronted injustice without fear or favour.