By REUTERS

AUG. 31, 2017, 10:24 A.M. E.D.T.

LONDON — It was meant to silence her critics, but by pledging to lead the Conservative Party into the next election, British Prime Minister Theresa May instead unleashed a wave of derision from her foes.

Still, with no challenger in sight and a party wary of a leadership fight, the 60-year-old prime minister is probably safe for now.

The London Evening Standard, now edited by George Osborne, the Conservative sacked by May as finance minister when she became prime minister last year, described her pledge to run again as “Like the Living Dead in a second-rate horror film”.

“The premiership of Theresa May staggers on oblivious. This was not supposed to be in the script.”

Others chimed in.

Party grandee Michael Heseltine, who was also sacked as a government adviser by May for rebelling over Britain’s planned exit from the European Union…