To think Theresa May was given a very hard time?

[plodalong12]

Just as the thread title says really. I feel like she had a really hard time whilst trying to manage a poisoned chalice in the form of Brexit.
I also think it’s interesting that it’s the tories and other political parties that have had female leaders but the Labour Party has so far had none despite putting themselves across as the party of equality.

Forgot about the magic money tree which resonated with people who conflate household expenditure with national accounts. Comedy value in then finding £bns for NI after the mi-judged election.

Unfortunately, I doubt many will look back on the results of 2010-2020 austerity given the next UK PM will probably implement austerity 2.0 in response to COVID.

@Iggly

Theresa May introduced the “go home” buses, she flip flopped on Brexit before the referendum, she had a huge part to play in the Windrush scandal - in fact she was pretty nasty as Home Secretary.

She also came out with that horrible “magic money tree” phrase in response to a nurse.
She was arrogant thinking she would win a big majority by calling another election.

Overall she was shit. But then again, she is a Conservative - so what do people expect?

I’m not sure why people think a change in Conservative Prime Minister will change anything much.

As for being a woman - she was hardly one championing feminist causes and helping to overturn misogyny. Being a woman does not, by default, mean you care about progress for women.

You've said everything I was thinking.

As an immigrant here because my husband is British, she has personally made my life very difficult, by making the path to indefinite leave to remain much longer and more expensive. Of course, that's what a lot of you like about her.

I think her Brexit deal wasn't taken as seriously as Boris's even though, IIRC, it was slightly more favourable to the UK. Of course, Boris didn't have as much scrutiny on Brexit because of covid being a big distraction through the transition period.

I just don't see myself trusting a Tory leader for a long, long time. They're not looking out for us.

I’m not saying she was great or that I agree with any of her policies. But she was not a sociopath like Boris. She was just a person I disagree with, who was a bit naive when it can to political manoeuvring.

As an immigrant here because my husband is British, she has personally made my life very difficult, by making the path to indefinite leave to remain much longer and more expensive. Of course, that's what a lot of you like about her.

This is just the thing isn't it. I'm a second-gen immigrant and even from the recent discourse on the RNLI it seems the majority of the populace really couldn't give a flying about the wellbeing of immigrants.

I think she was abysmal in the home office, and not good as PM, although I agree there is more than a whiff of the glass cliff about her time in that office.

I do think she would have done a better job with the pandemic though, she isn't afraid of being unpopular and wouldn't have shied away from the detail and the seriousness of it.

She was pretty crap and terrible in the Home Office. However, I do think there is mysoginy at play as Johnson is worse and given a free ride.
Imagine if May had his background and had wasted billions (£269b plus) of taxpayers money on failed projects.

She was useless and out of her depth. However, she was a beacon of competence and rationality in comparison with the venal lazy narcissist we’ve got now.

She also came out with that horrible “magic money tree” phrase in response to a nurse

Amber Rudd said it first in the leaders’ debate, to be fair.

@VladmirsPoutine

As an immigrant here because my husband is British, she has personally made my life very difficult, by making the path to indefinite leave to remain much longer and more expensive. Of course, that's what a lot of you like about her.

This is just the thing isn't it. I'm a second-gen immigrant and even from the recent discourse on the RNLI it seems the majority of the populace really couldn't give a flying about the wellbeing of immigrants.

Oh yes. And I am aware that I have it way better than others because we qualify for the visa financially etc. I see a lot of cases on fb groups of people being desperate to bring their spouse over but because they earn less than £18.6k they can't qualify.

I have had a not zero number of people talk to me here about how they want immigrants to go home, and then say "but not ones like you". I'm white and speak English as my first language, it feels a bit racist (towards others, obviously) when they say that to me and I don't look kindly on it at all.

Oh yes. And I am aware that I have it way better than others because we qualify for the visa financially etc. I see a lot of cases on fb groups of people being desperate to bring their spouse over but because they earn less than £18.6k they can't qualify.

I have had a not zero number of people talk to me here about how they want immigrants to go home, and then say "but not ones like you". I'm white and speak English as my first language, it feels a bit racist (towards others, obviously) when they say that to me and I don't look kindly on it at all.

What country are you from?

That was to @Beachhuts90

David Cameron said about Theresa May that she was good at her job but you just couldn't reason with her so it was just easier to let her get on with it. But when there was a problem in the Home Office, it's interesting to note that it was Cameron that came out and did the PR on it, not May. I think that shows 2 things. One, maybe she didn't take advice when she was PM on how things looked, and 2, she lacked resonance with the public.
Both reasons why she didn't do well as PM.

As for sexism, that definitely plays a part. In the 1970s,and 80s Mrs T was definitely abused on a sexist fashion, she just didn't seem to give a shit. I think it was the 1987 election, Kinnock looked a shoe in. The Labour Party were doing a behind the scenes documentary they were so sure they were going to win. Then about 2 days before the election, labour did satirical party political broadcast aimed at wavering tory voters, criticising Thatcher in a sexist way, talking about handbags, bossiness, etc. Unfortunately for the men who made that PPB, Scarfe, Rushton et al, it seemed the voters didn't appreciate the blatent sexism couched as a bit if banter, and the LP documentary that was subsequently released said that they felt the pushback immediately from voters, and, of course, they lost the election.

I'm not sure how much has changed since the 1980s and I think Mrs M was also undermined because of being a woman, just these days they have to be a lot more underhand about it. But, mainly, she was unsuccessful at the general election and the Tory party are all about winning. If they think they'd win, they'd elect a chewing gum on a stick. Equally, if they display they can't win, they'll discover just how many knives can be stuck in their back at one time!

@OzMoz

She was terrible. As is Boris. I couldn't give a hoot what sex either of them are. Useless is as useless does.

Genuinely wonder what it would take for them to be voted out.

Get yourself a credible opposition party and leader. It's not rocket science.

I have a relative who worked in a minister's private office when May was Home Secretary. She was viewed by those with close access as hardworking and dogged rather than intelligent and empathetic; someone lacking the star quality characteristic of a successful PM. Cameron was viewed as an outstanding salesman, Osborne was seen as impressively clever.

@plodalong12

Oh yes. And I am aware that I have it way better than others because we qualify for the visa financially etc. I see a lot of cases on fb groups of people being desperate to bring their spouse over but because they earn less than £18.6k they can't qualify.

I have had a not zero number of people talk to me here about how they want immigrants to go home, and then say "but not ones like you". I'm white and speak English as my first language, it feels a bit racist (towards others, obviously) when they say that to me and I don't look kindly on it at all.

What country are you from?

The US. Special relationship etc etc

I don't think Cameron's big mistake was calling the referendum, it was an election pledge after all, it was facilitating the referendum, then running a half-arsed, half-hearted 'remain' campaign, presumably on the back of the fact that he believed it was a foregone conclusion and the UK would vote to remain in the EU.

The entire remain campaign was terrible from start to finish, but the absolute worst culprit for standing by and doing nothing when he could have had an overwhelmingly decisive input, was Jeremy bloody Corbyn. He paid lip-service to the prospect of remaining within the EU, which is completely unforgivable for a man that built his house on being 'down to earth' and caring about working class people. Given that it's working class people who are going to be utterly humped by the UK's race to the bottom, the fact they voted for it in huge numbers is a damning indictment of the non-performance of one man who could, and should have been able to get the message across that what they were thinking of doing was tantamount to an enormous, catastrophic act of self-harm.

But no, he just lingered in the background hoping the entire thing would just sort itself out without him, somehow.

Twat

Theresa May is racist. As is Boris Johnson.

Misogyny exists, of course she was treated differently! I didn’t like her, don’t like a lot of her choices, but that doesn’t mean I turn a blind eye to the sexism she faced.

@Superb0wl

Theresa May is racist. As is Boris Johnson.

They may be. What's your evidence?

@ChainJane

She was given a hard time because she was a poor PM. Johnson is given a hard time because he is a poor PM. It's not "because she's a woman" - it's because she was shit. Even "good" PMs like Cameron were given a hard time, so the crap ones are really going to have people gunning for them.

Cameron was not a good PM, he was a terrible PM.

Brexit, austerity, pushing disabled people to their deaths, scrapping SureStart. All Cameron's fault.

As for sexism, that definitely plays a part. In the 1970s,and 80s Mrs T was definitely abused on a sexist fashion, she just didn't seem to give a shit

It didn’t stop in the 80s. What male MP has ever been treated like this:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22145306

Cameron was not a good PM, he was a terrible PM

Understatement of the thread. History won’t treat him kindly.

They may be. What's your evidence?

That's a request that might require a bit of digging and subsequent qualification in the case of May, but I think it's empirically obvious in Johnson's case.

Piccaninnies, watermelon smiles, letterboxes, verminous race, and so on.

Fuck her.

@stuckdownahole

I have a relative who worked in a minister's private office when May was Home Secretary. She was viewed by those with close access as hardworking and dogged rather than intelligent and empathetic; someone lacking the star quality characteristic of a successful PM. Cameron was viewed as an outstanding salesman, Osborne was seen as impressively clever.

Just what Cameron was saying really. I know people on here hate Boris Johnson, but he has massive appeal and relateability to people across different classes. You can't manufacture that. Whether people will see past that and decide they've had enough will ultimately depend on how the Labour Party operates over the next couple of years. Neither party is impressive a0t the moment but who knows what might come along and be a knockout blow for either of them. Even a week is a long time in politics.