Eva Simpson: Backbench May hasn’t lost plot by staying in politics

After three years in a nightmare job, with ­colleagues out to stab her in the back at every turn, few would begrudge ­Theresa May taking early retirement.

At 62, she’s just four years away from official retirement age. She and banker husband Philip are financially well-off and I can’t think of anything worse than for her to have to watch from the sidelines as successor Boris Johnson tries to push through Brexit when she couldn’t.

But stay she will – as a backbench MP. And while I think she should have a lie down in a darkened room for at least a year, evidence suggests staying in work might actually be better for her mind, body and soul.

A 2018 study in Austria discovered men who retired a year earlier than their peers had a 6.8% increase in the risk of premature death. In America, researchers found a 2% increase in mortality in men at 62, the age at which they can start taking their pensions.

My uncle spent over 30 years at his company, from apprentice to manager, and was convinced to take early ­retirement at 55.

Looking back, it was one of the worst things he ever did. There is no outlet for his razor-sharp mind and limitless energy. In order to keep busy he ­relentlessly comes up with mini projects to get stuck into, most of them totally ­unnecessary, costly and with varying degrees of success. He’s bored, the family are being driven crazy, and he would have been better off staying put.

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