Theresa May in China.

Theresa May in China.

Who on earth would want to be the British Prime Minister? At the  moment Theresa May is whipping up business in China, a land of pagodas, sampans, special chow mein, and bobbing junk boats set against a romantic backdrop of bonsai trees, politeness, respect and centuries of tradition. But Prime Minister May is currently on a diplomatic trade mission designed to boost not only her global image but win the hearts of our Far East partners whose only purpose in life is to keep smiling, shake hands with utter deference and then bow even more respectfully to friends in far off places.

This morning there is a strong possibility that the Prime Minister will be lavished with ginseng tea, Chinese hospitality of the highest order and plenty of goodwill. But these are difficult times for the Prime Minister because once again there are nasty rumours and scandalous speculation. You see the problem is that some of her enemies want her to go, walk the plank, leave, quit, beat a hasty retreat, never come back and just resign.

For as long as any of us can remember Prime Ministers have always been vilified, despised, criticised, mocked, parodied and lampooned by anybody with a grudge against political leaders occupying the highest office. It does seem that Theresa May is almost stubbornly dragging her feet over Brexit and the sooner she leaves 10 Downing Street the better for all concerned. The image isn't a favourable one and the critics tell us that the Tories have got to do something before the rot sets in.

Still there she was, wearing the warmest coats, thick fur hat on her head, gently inspecting platoons of Chinese officials and trying desperately to look the part even if deep inside there are personal conflicts raging powerfully in her mind. All of these walkabouts and glad handing of politicians and government officials is all very well but the suspicion is that things may well get worse before they get any better.

At the House of Commons the rumblings of discontent grow louder from back benchers of long standing, colleagues, furious colleagues and a Labour party who remain convinced that they should be the party in charge of the country. There are growing grumbles, fierce opposition, accusations and recriminations, finger pointing, anger, needle, hassle and aggravation. If things are allowed to continue like this then we may be faced with a no win situation where everybody simply ends up squabbling bitterly in a dark room and going absolutely nowhere.

But for the Prime Minister the immediate objective has to be one of strengthening and maintaining links with Britain and China. We all know that China has always been at the forefront of the high tech industry, renowned for its sleek cars, sophisticated electronic equipment and steel, the current topic of discussion between those in the higher echelons of government. And yet not everything in the garden is rosy since now the rest of the world doesn't quite know which direction Britain may be travelling in.

There are no knives out or swords to fall on yet but there is an impression that the influential movers and shakers on both sides of the Tory party are ganging up on May with sinister growls. They see a Prime Minister under siege from all sides and a woman under pressure from everybody to get it right. But for all her dignity and sense of decency she finds herself trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. Does she stick or twist? Does she continue to hold important discussions in private rooms knowing fully well that none of us will ever be able to understand the nightmarish complexities behind the small print, the never ending pros and cons of Brexit without forgetting the long term consequences?

It is times like this that you remember the men who made this all possible and whose responsibility it was to make sense of it all. When Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath took us into the Common Market all those decades ago, none of us could have predicted where it would take us all. We knew that Europe was that trustworthy neighbour who provided us with some excellent wine, cheese, the very best in trading relations and a good old fashioned European music concert at the end of the day. At the end of it all Harold Wilson, he of the soothing pipe, sealed the deal with a huge gasp of relief.

Sadly though Brussels became more of a hindrance than help as the years passed. The laws, red tape and stifling regulations began to weigh heavily on Britain. There were frequent bust ups, financial arguments, discrepancies over accounts, never ending currency differences and, more recently, migration and close borders. We've been told that our Polish builders and Romanian engineers may have to re-consider their decision to settle their families in Britain. We then welcome our European allies before changing our minds again. Or maybe we have made up our minds and none of us are any the wiser. It all seems so impossibly complicated and there has to be somebody out there who can give us some genuine clarification rather than blowing hot air.

Anyway here we are on the final day of January after yet another interminable Brexit game of ping pong which is probably where Theresa May came in on her visit to China. There are another two years of this ludicrous political bickering to go, those indecisive moments in political history where nothing seems to happen and the only constructive course of action is inaction. So we'll all gather again tomorrow and the next day and the following week and the following month, communicating with clear ideas and then scrapping that suggestion because there are too many pages in that document.

There is hesitation and deviation in the air, uncertainty on a huge scale and some of us who wish they'd reach some kind of amicable agreement because some of us haven't a clue where all of this leading to. Some of us extend our heartfelt sympathies to Prime Minister May and others who may want to talk about something completely different. Oh for a life after Brexit. Anybody for a cup of ginseng tea? I'll take one sugar please.