It was immediately dubbed the “dementia tax” because it seemed to disadvantage patients with long-term illnesses that require years of care. Her biggest misstep may have come when the Conservatives, as part of their election platform, introduced a new approach to caring for the elderly. She was also a no-show at a televised debate-she sent Home Secretary Amber Rudd instead-which prompted a giant chicken to accompany her on some campaign stops.

She’s appeared uncomfortable when talking with voters and has come off as robotic for repeating her “strong and stable” tagline as if it were a mantra. The downward trends are due-in part-to May’s own uninspired campaign style. Since May set Thursday’s election in motion, her party’s comfortable lead has dwindled, with some polls pegging Conservatives’ advantage at 11 or 12 percentage points and others putting it as low as one or two.Īt the same time, May’s approval rating has tanked as her rival, Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour party, has seen his favorability move in the opposite direction. Subscribe to The World’s Most Powerful Women, Fortune’s daily must-read for global businesswomen. She seemed so unassailable that “Theresa May’s Team” overshadowed Conservative party branding on some campaign signage.Īgainst that backdrop, May called the snap election. Plus, May herself was popular, having stepped into Britain’s post-Brexit leadership vacuum as an unflappable-if unflamboyant-leader. It was recipe for a landslide that would give May more leeway to negotiate as she enters Brexit talks with the European Union. Yet the logic of the decision was undeniable polls showed May’s Conservative party with a 21-point lead over its main rival, the Labour party. May’s move came a surprise since she had, on at least seven previous occasions, vowed to do no such thing. The contest put all 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs three years ahead of schedule. Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election to be held on Thursday.

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