Theresa May's Incredible Shrinking Poll Numbers

When Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May stepped out onto Downing Street on April 18 to call a snap election for June 8, no one expected it. Since becoming prime minister in July 2016 after David Cameron’s sudden resignation, she had made clear, on six separate occasions, that she would not call one. It was obvious, she insisted, that Britain’s departure from the European Union required stability, a spell free from the demands and distractions of an election campaign when “the will of the British people” could be fulfilled.

But then suddenly, on that warm spring day, the reason for not calling a general election—Brexit—became the reason for calling one. Opposing parties, she now argued, were obstructing “the will of the British people,” a phrase she is fond of using, and, with an unprecedented 20-point lead in the and popularity ratings than almost any prime minister before her, it was time to annihilate the competition. It was time, that is, to, May’s cheerleader-in-chief, declared on its front page. (In February, the newspaper’s political editor, James Slack, became May’s chief of staff.) This wouldn’t be an election to elect the next government; it would be an election to elect Theresa Maya “,” a “,” a “,” in the words of her detractors, a cynical move for her to cash in her chips while she could. The predicted majority—200 seats, by some —was too tempting to turn down.