BLAME Margaret Thatcher for our obsession with U-turns.

Her brilliantly catchy "You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning," pun let the 1980 Conservative Party conference know what she thought of those who were calling for her to change economic direction.

The slogan nicely summed her no nonsense, unwavering – dare we say ‘strong and stable’ - approach to politics.

It also gave birth to a modern obsession.

Since Mrs Thacher politicians who dared to change opinion or renege on promises made in Budgets or manifestos have been accused of committing a dreaded U-turn.

When David Cameron and George Osborne started to perform more U-turns than you’d see in a whole season of Top Gear it shattered their image as people you could trust to pull us out of recession.

Conversely, those PMs who left a lasting impression on the British consciousness, such as Thatcher, Blair and Churchill, are perceived to have stuck to their guns.

To admit that you are wrong may be a great personal trait but in politics it’s seen as weakness.

Will Theresa May’s decision to ditch the "dementia tax"  undermine the image of calm authority her spin doctors have desperately tried to cultivate for her in recent weeks?

It cannot help.

Labour might have rallied in the polls at the weekend but Mrs May still held a commanding lead and could have ridden out any backlash to her proposed social care policies rather than panic and change course.

Since Mrs May was appointed commentators have been eager to describe her more strident performances as 'Thatcherite'.  

Her U-turn may not prove fatal to the Tory election campaign but it should silence once and for all any talk that she is the successor to Mrs Thatcher.