WHAT a week in politics. No matter which end of the spectrum you fall on, or which side of the Atlantic, the scenes have not always been pleasant.

In fact, at times it has resembled the Jerry Springer show.

Suddenly the heat is off Jeremy Corbyn and the bitter divisions between his Momentum movement and the Parliamentary party.

Instead our attention was drawn to UKIP and that picture of Steven Woolfe lying face down in the Brussels Parliament building after allegedly being punched in an altercation with fellow UKIP MEP, the appropriately-named Mike Hookem.

“Pure Hollywood” said Hookem of the photo, which he claimed was staged.

And suddenly Nigel Farage, invincible as the Terminator, is back in charge of UKIP for the third time after elected leader Diane James quit when it emerged she wrote vi coactus – Latin for “under duress” – at the bottom of her official registration form.

Days later Farage was in Missouri on the Republican campaign trail, defending Donald Trump’s comments about his style of courting – which it emerged consisted of being so rich and famous he can just go up to any woman he wants and grab her by the p***y.

Remind me, when did people in public office ever behave like this? Or maybe they did, in the good old days, within the chambers of the gentleman’s clubs, in a cloud of whisky vapour and cigar smoke. We just never heard about it.

And on the other hand we have Theresa May. Here’s a woman who definitely won’t be indulging in “locker room talk”, brawling in the European Parliament, or indulging in brandy in the clubs any time soon.

Understated, statesmanlike, dignified, she seems to embody everything we would want to vote for. In a few short months she’s put Cameronism very much at arm’s length, moved the party’s image away from being the “nasty party” and looks very much like a safe pair of hands to lead us out of the EU.

Her debut leader’s speech to the Tory party conference impressed commentators, seeming to unite a very divided party, while even reaching out to the disillusioned middle ground, the former New Labour voters, the Lib Dem faithful, those who have no hope of having a party in power any time soon.

She spoke about fairness, security, employment rights, protecting the British working class, the importance of paying tax. She praised the NHS in an attempt to reassure those who believe the Conservatives are hell bent on dismantling it.

With her quiet dignity, her unruffled manner, her lack of public school slick, she might seem like she can embrace all the political spectrum. But despite the rhetoric she had no practical formula for change.

She kept away from the economy – possibly because taking a hard line on border controls isn’t actually compatible with a healthy economy.

For a Prime Minister, she has been surprisingly under the radar since winning power. We won’t know for a while if she is intending on delivering on her promises for the more liberal voters. Her understated manner could be cleverly hiding a smiling assassin. As one Cabinet minister allegedly said: “She’s a grown up. She knows it won’t last.”