Hard-working families’ to a Theresa May’s year in power
U-turn, in particular on Brexit.
“Let’s not forget she was in favour of remaining part of the EU and changed her mind and became the most hardline person on the EU despite the fact it’s going to wreck our economy.”
Mrs May was strongly criticised for not meeting survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster in the immediate aftermath of the blaze.
Ms Morgan said: “[She] couldn’t even bring herself to speak to them, while the 91-year-old Queen dealt with it remarkably well...
“You have to be able to communicate with the public and she seems to be terrified of the public.”
Pressing for another election, she said: “I would like to see her calling a general election as soon as possible because I think that if we continue in the way we’re going now, I think there is going to be a fundamental threat to our economy because of the dire approach to our Brexit negotiations.
“There doesn’t seem to be any recognition of the fact that she did not win the general election and therefore does not have the authority to carry through a hard Brexit.” 3. A former Tory MP’s take: “I’m pretty sure she will make a success of Brexit.”
Byron Davies stunned commentators in 2015 when he became the first Conservative to ever win Gower, taking the seat from Labour by just 27 votes.
Last month it turned from blue back to red, with Labour winning a majority of 3,269.
Mr Davies may be a casualty of Mrs May’s decision to go for an early election but there is no trace of resentment when he talks about the PM. Instead, he defends her response to the Grenfell blaze.
He said: “I find it quite disturbing that people want to criticise the PM for not being emotional because she is an emotional person. But as Prime Minister – indeed, I remember from my days as a police officer – you can’t become over-emotional about these things. You have to stand back and take an overview from a leadership point of view. I think that was very unfair criticism – quite unnecessary, actually.”
He does not see an early election on the horizon and dismisses the suggestion that she is not approachable.
“I found her very accessible,” he said. “Whenever you met her, whether it was in the voting lobby or whether it was in the corridors in Parliament, she would always acknowledge you and ask how were things in Gower...”
And although there were media reports that top aides to the PM who have resigned in the wake of the election were abrasive in their dealing with other ministers, Mr Davies said: “It certainly wasn’t reflected in the day-to-day activities of Government and it never impinged on anything that I as a backbencher did.”
Mrs May’s record as Home Secretary makes him think she will survive this storm.
He said: “She was a particularly long-lasting Home Secretary – [it is] one of the most difficult offices of Secretary of State.... I’m pretty sure she will make a success of Brexit.” 4. The Plaid Cymru view: “She is a zombie Prime Minister.”
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards describes Mrs May as a “mortallywounded Prime Minister” who is “just serving time before she’s chucked out”.
He said: “There’s no way the Conservatives will let her fight another election.”
Mrs May’s manifesto kept in place a pledge to deliver a reduction in “net migration down to the tens of thousands”.
Mr Edwards, who said the PM is pursuing a “kamikaze Brexit position”, accused her of harbouring a “weird obsession with immigration”, which he says is “clouding every decision she makes”. 5. What a Tory MP with an increased majority thinks: She’s tough but “incredibly pleasant”.
The June election may have been a disappointment for Mrs May, but Glyn Davies saw his majority in the erstwhile Lib Dem stronghold of Montgomeryshire jump from 5,325 to 9,285.
He said: “I think I do know her quite well. She’s a tough lady and has always seemed to me to be an incredibly pleasant and approachable Prime Minister.”
Mr Davies defended her decision not to try to trigger the Article 50 Brexit process earlier in her premiership, arguing that in the run-up to the referendum “the Government at the time did not expect a vote to leave” and preparations needed to be made.
Mrs May has been criticised for a manifesto which contained controversial policies, not only on social care but on pensions and benefits for older citizens.
But Mr Davies said it would be a “pity” if future manifestos did not include “difficult issues” that merited “serious debate”.
Predicting that Mrs May will rebuild support, he said: “I think the negativity surrounding Theresa May at the moment is not just unjustified – it’s just ridiculous. In the House of Commons [she] looks as confident and professional as she’s ever done.
“I just think the pendulum will swing back. My own view is the pendulum has swung from probably an unjustifiable high to a massively unjustifiable low.”