‘Strong leadership needed for Brexit’: How will voters respond?

Petra Schleiter, Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford, draws on recent research to analyse how voters will react to Theresa May's decision to call a snap election on 8 June. When Prime Minister Theresa May announced her intention to call a snap election on June 8, she took a political gamble. Two polls over the Easter weekend put the Conservatives 21 points ahead of Labour. Mrs May will be hoping to translate this polling lead into a crushing electoral victory and a personal mandate that will free her from the constraints of working with her current slim majority of just 17. If she succeeds, she would be empowered politically to deal with factions within her own Conservative Party and the opposition. But how are voters likely to respond to this surprise move by the government? Party leaders are currently trying to frame the electorate's views of it. Mrs May is justifying her decision by saying there is a need for strong leadership in the light of political opposition to her vision of Brexit from the Labour Party, the SNP, and the Liberal Democrats, as well as the House of Lords.