Bad news but tabloid praise for Thesea May. The lady in the leopard print heels is now a Big Beast

By Paul Goodman
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I hate needles, and thus wouldn't care to inject myself twice a day, either in the stomach or thigh, as protection against Type 1 diabetes. The condition is nasty, but manageable - a point that she was careful to make yesterday about her sad news.  ‘There’s a great quote from Steve Redgrave who was diagnosed with diabetes before he won his last Olympic gold medal," she told the Mail on Sunday. "He said diabetes must learn to live with me rather than me live with diabetes. That’s the attitude.’

May was projecting the message that having Type 1 diabetes doesn't necessarily stop one from reaching the top - in sport or in politics.  One can have it, and still be an effective Home Secretary...or even (for who's to say what might happen in the future?) Prime Minister.  What strikes me the day after her interview is the contrast between the hearing she's had and the news about immigration.  Mark Wallace wrote yesterday about the Public Accounts Committee's criticisms of the way the figures are calculated.  I asked on Friday how May will persuade voters that her claims of having reduced immigration by a third are true.

Migration Watch clearly believes that her actions are having some effect. It points to the annual cap on non-EU economic migration, restricting the right to work of some students, and more stringent requirements for those wishing to bring in family members. (Sponsors of spouses now have to prove a minimum income of £18,600.)  Others will be far more sceptical. These include the right-of-centre papers.  But some have praised the Home Secretary.  "Mrs May is both wise and brave," the Mail said yesterday.  "Theresa May is an inspiration," the Express says today.  The lady in the leopard print heels is now a Big Beast.