Yes, a monumentally bad call.
OTOH… place your tin foil hats on… what if she were really going to attend but it was trailed as Amber Rudd for security reasons?
Even as conspiracy theories go, I find that one pretty far-fetched. The negative publicity around her long-standing public refusal to attend would surely far outweigh any boost she got by actually attending. It just wouldn’t look good at all, and I think in some ways that would be even worse than refusing to turn up. Neither strong nor stable, merely scared and waffly.
I agree.
She was arrogant in calling the election. She was stupid with her manifesto. And she’s a coward for not attending the debate.
Anyone else watching the debate? No last minute Theresa May arrival. Amber Rudd is deputising.
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Watching from behind the sofa.
Ugh, I avoid watching these things. I just end up shouting at the TV angrily.
… and breathe.
Feels like a slight win.
How’d Rudd do?
Rudd deputising, despite her father having died two days ago.
I only watched bits, it’s a shite format. Seven is too many for this kind of thing.
Plus, she’s just been docked 12 weeks pay for failing to attend a job interview.
New polls suggest the Labour surge is thinning out.
London polls coming tomorrow, I think? May indicate if the Labour increase is too geographically concentrated…
Interesting to hear a little more about the variation in polling and prediction modelling. A lot of the variation has to do with the 2 million new registrants, in particular how big will the yoof turnout be … so, if you model 30% yoof turnout you get a Tory majority, if you model 80% it’s hung - oversimplification but along those lines.
Traditionally its hard to get the kids out to vote but this time is very different - they have been offered a massive bribe (tuition fees), ad they have been offered a kinder, gentler vision they can believe.
If it were just that then I’d feel less optimistic, but the Tories have lost a fair percentage of retirees to ‘not sure’/possible abstention because of the dementia tax.
So much churn in this it’s crazy …
Fwiw, tonight YouGiv have it down to 3%:
I think it’s not just about tuition fees - a lot of young voters are angry about Brexit, and rueful that they sat out the referendum, I think. If there’s anything good that came out of that sorry mistake, it was that is showed that votes do matter, and it’s not all rigged.
Oh, I think the yoof are rightfully angry about a whole lot of things. Thank goodness 
So they should be, they are getting royally shafted. I do worry that that might lead to further disengagement, rather than asserting themselves politically. We’ll see in a weeks time, I guess.
About as badly as the rest of them. Probably better than May would have done.
Tim Farron did OK, if I agreed with more of his policies I’d probably genuinely like him. As it is I expect I’ll vote Lib Dem, as the best of a very bad bunch.
See my post 157 above - I guess now the shoe’s on the other (Tory) foot!
Ding ding!
Just caught the tail end of the Labour team talking about Brexit in Basildon and for the first time for me, Corbyn seemed like an honest-to-goodness legit leader. Just in time, then.
I don’t know who’s pulling the strings but this new approach of a jokey, relaxed leadership (vs. the angry, stressful Brexit world of the Tories) is resonating very well with me.
He’s even got a top team: Starmer, Thornberry and this Barry whoever who’s come out of nowhere to be a top safe pair of interview hands.
More of this, please! 