Jonathan Arnott MEP.
Today with the DUP deal we see the culmination of Theresa May's failings
as a Prime Minister.
I never
bought in to the Theresa May hype when many UKIP supporters trusted her to
deliver on Brexit. After all, she failed to deliver time and time again on her
promises when she was Home Secretary. So why would anyone suppose that as Prime
Minister she would suddenly transform? Yet the media gave her a honeymoon period
which lasted far too long.
This is by
no means an exhaustive list of mistakes:
Mistake 1:
The early election flip-flop.
In
politics, just like in life, people don't trust you if you break your promises.
Theresa May didn't have to outright rule out calling an election, over and over
again. But she did.
When she
went back on her word, I don't suppose many people desperately wanted or hated
having an election. But by going back on her word, she created an impression
that she wasn't to be trusted.
Mistake 2:
Assuming the result at the start
Holding an
election when you don't have to is a hugely risky gamble. Theresa May came
across as taking the electorate for granted.
Mistake 3:
An election campaign that overly focused on Theresa May.
Vote for
Theresa May's candidate, we were told. Not vote for the Conservatives or any
plan. It was all centred around Theresa May personally. Fine at the start of an
election campaign, but not fine after weeks of campaigning when all the other
parties were bound to attack her. She was leading in the polls after
all.
Mistake 4:
They didn't really say very much.
The
Conservative election literature in my constituency, a target seat for them
which they actually won, didn't say anything. It was platitude after platitude
and cliche after cliche.
They gave
no positive reasons to go out and vote for them.
Mistake 5:
But the one thing they did say was electoral suicide.
The
so-called 'dementia tax' was always going to go down badly, and the U-turns
didn't inspire confidence at all.
Mistake 6:
Theresa May didn't take part in the debates.
I'm not
sure that too many people make their minds up about how to vote when watching a
debate, honestly. But the message that you send to the electorate by refusing to
debate is like sticking up two fingers at the people. It either says 'I'm scared
of the opposition' or it says 'I can win without having to bother putting myself
through a debate'. Neither fear nor arrogance is particularly Prime
Ministerial.
Mistake 7:
A marketing strategy that couldn't match the hype.
A 'strong
and stable' narrative only works if your campaign demonstrates strength and
stability. It did completely the opposite.
Mistake 8:
Letting Corbyn get away with far too much.
Corbyn's
fantasy economics needed to be challenged, but how can you challenge it if you
won't debate him?
If your
election literature contains only bland platitudes about your own candidate, and
you're giving no positive reason to vote for them, you'd better be giving a
reason not to vote for the other side. But they failed to do even
that.
Mistake 9:
Fundamentally missing the mood of the country on election
night.
If you
don't have to call an election, and then call one, and lose seats, you can't
really spin that as a great victory. Yes you just-about won, but a more
conciliatory tone is needed when you've just achieved completely the
opposite.
Mistake
10: Not showing a human side.
If you
come across as aloof, out of touch, not interested in meeting the people...well
then how do you expect people to feel about you?
May's
reaction to Grenfell Tower was woeful, and that memory will stick in people's
minds.
So now,
through every fault of her own, Theresa May finds herself in a situation where
she has to give in when negotiating with the DUP.
If she caves in so easily when in talks with a party that already broadly
is in agreement with her, what on earth is she going to do in negotiations with
the European Union?