2017 proved to be a very problematic year for British Prime Mnister Theresa May… a year in which she lost her parliamentary majority in a snap election, had a disastrous conference appearance while trying to navigate her very divided Conservative party in the Brexit talks.
The year was also notable for a series of terrorist attacks, the like of which the UK had not seen in over a decade and the biggest national tragedy in a generation with the Grenfell Tower fire. Catherine Drew in London takes a look back at 2017 and considers what lies ahead.
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To say 2017 has been a challenging year for British Prime Minister thersa may would be something of an understatement. In part to strengthen her hand with her own deeply divided Conservative party and in tough brexit talks, Mrs May, who had insisted all year that she would not call a snap election… called a snap election for June.
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But her policy of repeating the phrase "strong and stable" whilst mostly avoiding debates, interviews and interactions with voters was a gamble, that despite all official predictions and polls… did not pay off. Meanwhile opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn whose political obituary was being written ahead of the results made unexpected gains for the party, at the expense of the conservatives, cementing his role as leader.
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The election results meant Theresa May had to scrabble around and find extra funds to enable a deal with Northern Ireland's DUP party to give her a working majority in parliament.
Meanwhile the UK was hit by a series of terror attacks. In march one man driving a van ploughed into pedestrians on westminster bridge before stabbing to death a policeman in parliaments grounds, killing five people. May saw a sucide bomber kill 22 people after a music concert by american singer Ariana Grande in Manchester. Another terrifying deadly attack resulting in 8 deaths occurred in the London bridge area in June by three men who were shot dead by police.. London Mayor Sadiq Khan led the city in a message of defiance.
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Then just days after the snap election, a fire engulfs Grenfell Tower in west London killing at least 71 people. A further terror attack occurs that month against worshippers at finsbury park mosque, with one death. The events left the country shaken and the public mood nervous.
The end of the year was dominated politically by a scrabble to do enough to move the European Union onto phase two of the talks, which will hammer out Britain's future trade relationship with the block. The last few weeks of the year saw the UK increase its financial offer… the so called divorce bill while finally reaching agreement on the issue of the rights of EU nations in the UK and the tricky border question between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Theresa May returned from Brussels and despite a last minute blow as MPs voted to allow themselves a say on the final deal….she finished the year on something of a high.
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"We will leave the EU on the 29th March, 2019 I think people also want us to do that in a smooth and orderly way, that doesn't disrupt people's lives and doesn't disrupt businesses and that's what we'll be delivering."
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With the clock ticking down to the 2019 exit, the UK is looking to make fast progress, particularly on a transition deal set to last for two years… seen as vital to reassuring businesses and investors.
Some believe support for a hardline position is beginning to ebb. Catherine Barnard is professor of EU law at the University of Cambridge.
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"Reality is beginning to dawn that we cannot leave without a deal, because the deal is so important, we are so interconnected with the EU that to say we could walk away without a deal would be irresponsible. "
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Big decisions and complex negotiations ahead lie ahead in 2018, not helped by divisions in Theresa May's conservative government between those who want to stay as close as possible to the EU and it's regulations, and those who want the UK to strike out on its own. How she will negotiate this and whether Theresa May is the one see the Brexit process through has yet to be seen. 2018 looks set to be just as troublesome a year for the British Prime Minister, whoever that may be, as 2017.
Catherine Drew, sign off, London