She is instinctually on the left of her party

but savvy enough to realise that to keep the coalition together (all parties are coalitions) she needs to throw the headbangers a bone or two.

She won't get an easy ride any ways up (from her own party, that is); but a fresh mandate and an increased majority will enable her to steer more of a middle course than she might otherwise have been able to.

Lest we forget it was May who stood up at a Tory Conference and told them they were the Nasty Party, because (inter alia) of the undercurrent of racist and homophobic attitudes which pervaded the party at the time.

I've never really "got" left wing Tories but she is one. So was John Major - much more left wing at his core than Tony Blair, for example.

Calling the election was a smart move by her - if she'd asked, which despite my being her constituent she didn't, that's what I would have advised her to do some months back.

Posted By: Old Man, Apr 19, 16:55:17