To wonder if anyone can explain why Theresa May is refusing to do any live interviews when she called this election?

[Bearbehind]

As far as I can see TM called this GE because she arrogantly assumed she'd walk it.

Unfortunately for her JC has upped his game and every time someone poses a question to her she rattles off some soundbite starting with 'let me be clear...' and completely ignores he question.

Can anyone defend the fact that she wouldn't participate in the live tv debate and now won't do any radio interviews either?

Shouldn't we be able to expect more from a PM?

She's not very good at thinking on her feet and she's not very good in debate or PMQs. I'm a left-of-centre social democrat, so not a Conservative voter, but thought she seemed like a good choice of leader from the candidates. I've been very disappointed.

She's lacking in warmth and empathy (superficially, I mean - she may have empathy in spades, but if so she's incapable of showing it), she lectures patronisingly like a 1950s grammar school headmistress and I think she completely lacks vision. I get the impression watching her that she's a very competent functionary - carry out the plan, do what's in the manifesto, but a lot of little conservative fiddling round the edges policies and absolutely no charisma.

I think Corbyn is completely the wrong choice as Labour leader but I think he has done better in this campaign than I expected, partly because at least he seems like a normal bloke who can talk to people.

I have actually started to wonder about who is going to be the next Tory person when she is thrown under the bus after this fiasco of a campaign?
Anybody has any ideas?

I did wonder if that was why Amber Rudd did the debate Valentine but I can't see any obvious choices.

I think she is scared of live debates, and also appears to think that they are beneath her.

They aren't, or certainly shouldn't be, bearing in mind that we are trying to choose a leader most suited to getting us through difficult Brexit negotiations.

I am not sure how far to trust the polls at this stage of things, as I clearly remember the occasion when they once predicted that Neil Kinnock was about to become Prime Minister. That didn't happen, and the result, if I remember rightly, was a Conservative landslide.

I shall not vote for the Conservatives at this election. May is just not coming across with anything I can warm to or latch onto at all, and I also think that "austerity" has gone way too far and needs to be reversed.

It is a question of whether to vote LibDem or Labour for me. I live in a Conservative stronghold, though our MP of 40 years is standing down this time. He had a 25,000 majority. Labour and the LibDems were about neck and neck for third position in 2015, with UKIP (unfortunately) in second on 13% of the vote. I certainly won't vote UKIP!!! Still debating with myself how to use my protest vote.

Also, I find Theresa May's "headmistress" style when she does give an interview without answering the questions to be very off-putting.

I think it is likely Rudd will lose her seat, she is hated in her constituency after she slated the town and admitted she chose it because it was only a 2hr commute to london.

TopseyT, if you're wavering between Lib Dem & Labour I'd recommend looking at the MN webchats & comparing Tim with Jeremy - Tim Farron was excellent, JC just couldn't be arsed.

David David has already started sharpening the knives with his comments that ( yet again) the Tories aren't on track to meet their own immigration targets.

I hope that Rudd does lose her seat. She's completely out of touch and disinterested in her constituents. And her politics are vile.

How will that work during Brexit negiotiations?

It won't. I think that's the point. All this gubbins about them needing us more than we need them is total bollocks. There are 27 of them against 1 of us, led by the Tory B-team. Hence all the no-deal-is-better-than-a-bad-deal stuff.

They know damn well that WTO is still a bad deal and by no means a cakewalk, but it's what I fear they're going to do since they got the country into this ridiculous mess and don't have an easy out.

Kicking the can down the road, making it someone else's problem, is probably their smartest play.

Corbyn, for some unfathomable reason, would go ahead with Brexit, betraying his own party and majority of Lab voters, unless his coalition partners can enforce some sort of 2nd ref or similar. But when he's fluffed it up, the Tories can swoop back in, either on a rejoining platform (if they can nix their rightest-wingers) or on one where they can do it better post-Brexit.

Let's not forget this whole shitstorm came about because Dave couldn't control his own party. TM is bending over backwards to accommodate them because not doing so clearly ends in loss of PM-ship, even though she doesn't believe in it herself. She's no leader, she's just an avatar people can project their own Brexit fantasies onto.

It's all going to end in tears.

And even after all that, I still can't decide whether TM is some brilliant, long-game-playing Machiavellian genius or just plain incompetent and unsuited.

David Davis obvs.

I also wonder who is adving her. She said "Jeremy Corbyn is not committed to Brexit" I should think that made him really appealing to the 48% who voted remain. Maybe it accounts for his popularity in London.

David Davis tried before though didn't he? Lost to Cameron.

Urrghhh. David Davis doesn't look like he knows his right hand from left so I would much rather it was Rudd. But I agree with all the posters who say May has this headmistress like body language which is really such a turn off. Rudd also has some of that and she also doesn't control her body language well (her response to booing in the live debate for example).
Hammond could be the one but he is so fiercely pro Remain that I think it is highly unlikely.

I still can't decide whether TM is some brilliant, long-game-playing Machiavellian genius or just plain incompetent and unsuited.
I used to think on exactly those lines before she announced elections. Now I am really inclined towards her being thoroughly incompetent and unable to handle any kind of pressure or crisis (which quite a few posters on Mumsnet tried to explain to me to be fair).

Davis did indeed try before, but he didn't have a public pop at Cameron the week before a GE.

Even her own party are openly taking the piss out of her.

'Perhaps she is a fan of the phrase 'better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt'

And quite rightly so. I think at this rate, Tories will have to reprint their -devoid of costing manifesto because she would take back everything by the time Election Day is upon us.
Apparently she refused to appear in the Woman's hour and then again tonight.

'Perhaps she is a fan of the phrase 'better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt'
That's a gem.

Its like if people don't go on X Factor style debates some people think they aren't up to the job. It's because she didn't lower herself to fighting for air time that I have more respect for her.

She is campaigning. Its a shame some voters seem to need to get all their facts from a slanging match with a presenter that had little control and a clearly biased audience whooping at everything Corbyn uttered.

As Lucas said, the first rule of leadership is to turn up. Especially if the debate wouldn't be happening at this time if you hadn't called an election.

Why wasn't she focusing on Brexit negotiations 6 weeks ago when she called a snap election? Oh, because she was hoping for a landslide to give her a mandate.

Hahahahahahahaha. That's not going so well is it?

One Tory MP to be charged with election fraud. Others to follow I 'd expect.

And they said JC was unelectable. At least his own party actually voted him in.

Maybe - I don't think it's because she wouldn't 'lower' herself (although why talking about your politics on the TV is lowering yourself, I don't know), I think it's because she can't without making a show of herself. She seemed perfectly happy to talk about shoes, bins and 'girl jobs' on the One Show. So it's politics she doesn't want to talk about. Does not bode well for a PM, IMO.

And 'campaigning'...a few carefully stage-managed appearances with guestlists? Nah. The fantastic interview with the Plymouth Herald? Ha!

I don't think people get that many facts from TV debates, but I do think it's good for them to be scrutinised by their peers, in full view of the electorate. TM won't lower herself to scrutiny, that's the problem.

It's because she didn't lower herself to fighting for air time that I have more respect for her.
You comparing the attention of the whole nation on a tv debate to understand something as crucial as their own vote to the X-factor?
This the kind of attitude that's loosing Tories the respect so fast. You can have all the competence in the whole wide world (not that the likes of Rudd or Davis or Mayherself have shown much of that anyway) but attitude will make it zero. That is how real world functions. Unless of course you are Trump. In which case May will be fine considering she is the only woman who cared enough for him to hold his hands in public.

What I think is so strange is that she keeps repeating that she's the only one who can get a good agreement on leaving EU, while simultaneously being afraid to debate anything with anyone.

From what I've seen of her interviews she's an extremely poor communicator.

Isn't it ironic that the person who called JC lacking in leadership qualities and unable to be PM, is turning out to be exactly that? Now who's unelectable eh?

Hahahahaha...