Theresa May goes from bulletproof to beatable in two weeks

Farrah Plummer
Jun 03, 2017, updated Jun 03, 2017

Theresa May is not seen as particularly warm or someone voters can identify with": Joff Lelliott Photo: EPA

A landslide victory for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom will be no longer, according to polls taken less than a week away from the national election.

An Ipsos MORI poll shows British Prime Minister Theresa May’s lead over the Labour Party has shrunk from 15 points to five in just over two weeks.

The poll showed the Conservatives’ share of the vote had fallen to 45 per cent, down four percentage points since the previous poll published on May 18.

A YouGov opinion poll on Wednesday also showed the Conservatives’ lead had narrowed to a fresh low of 3 points.

University of Queensland political science lecturer Joff Lelliott told The New Daily the Conservatives will “still almost certainly win the election”, but it was unlikely they would now win with the huge majority of 100-150 seats that many initially predicted.

Dr Lelliott said it was only a few weeks ago that some key allies of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were saying Labour would be lucky to get 200 seats.

“I think Corbyn would now be feeling more confident they’re not going to suffer the electoral wipe-out initially feared,” Dr Lelliott said.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced the snap general election for June 8 to “make a success of Brexit” and claimed divisions at Westminster risked the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

“I called a general election because I believe the British people have a right to vote and say who they want to see leading them through the Brexit process,” Ms May said in an election edition of BBC1’s Question Time.

“And I believe they should have a prime minister with a resolute determination to carry out their will.”

Dr Lelliott argued the call was largely a “political move” when polls where strong for the sitting prime minister, and found the argument of obstruction in Parliament less convincing.

“But it is worth bearing in mind that the Conservative government is not particularly well-liked,” Dr Lelliot said, noting seven years of austerity measures and public-sector pay freezes.

He said the prime minister’s lack of “human qualities” were also against her.

“I don’t think people have ever truly loved this government in the way the Thatcher or Blair governments had true believers and a big, enthusiastic base of support.

“Theresa May is right at the centre of the campaign strategy, but Theresa May is not seen as particularly warm or someone voters can identify with.”

Ms May has faced some criticism for declining to directly debate Mr Corbyn or any of the leaders of the smaller parties.

Mr Corbyn used a rally in Basildon, in south-eastern England, to say that Ms May and the Conservatives were putting Britain’s economy at risk by taking a hard line toward the European Union over Brexit terms, which may lead to a breakdown in talks.

“That would mean slapping tariffs on the goods we export – an extra 10 per cent on cars – with the risk that key manufacturers would leave for the European mainland, taking skilled jobs with them,” he said.

– with AAP