Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s scrutiny-dodging will only get worse

What a very boring election this is. The Tories are trying to keep their Prime Minister away from anyone who isn’t an android programmed to wave a placard about ‘strong and stable leadership’. Journalists from local papers are being kept in rooms to prevent them from – gasp – filming an interview with the Prime Minister for their websites. Other events take place away from the media entirely, with Theresa May cocooned safely among Tory activists: the political equivalent of a tree falling in an empty forest.

Over the bank holiday, the Sunday papers carried tales of a row between May and her key aide Fiona Hill in which the Prime Minister apparently complained that she was being kept away from voters. Given the airtight way in which May’s top team operates, managing to spring an election as a shock on everyone, it is hard to imagine that this story would be seen as particularly disadvantageous to the Tories. It suggests that the Prime Minister isn’t afraid of meeting voters – while also enabling election strategists to continue controlling her access – and to take the blame for the ‘boring’ election.

The thing is, those election strategists were copping a lot of criticism in 2015 for their boring tactics, too. Back then we also had a Prime Minister hiding, along with his bus, in a massive cow shed so that he didn’t have to talk to anyone inconvenient. Journalists – including me – complained then about the terrible access they were being given, especially a dearth of opportunities to ask questions about the policies the Tories were putting forward (including that silly ‘tax lock’ that caused them so many problems at the most recent Budget). But the Tories surprised us grumpy journalists by winning that boring election in 2015 – and the only difference two years on is that a Tory victory is not in doubt.

For all it may be bad for democracy to have its leaders hiding from scrutiny in this way, elections are not circuses set up to entertain political diehards.

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