Since calling the election three weeks ago, May has run a militantly closed campaign, preferring to deliver carefully constructed soundbites rather than ad libbing with members of the public. But her almost comically repeated use of the phrase “strong and stable leadership” and insistence on spotlighting Brexit over any other policy issue has certainly resonated in Yate at least.



Even those who told us they had always voted Tory praised May specifically rather than the party generally, and noted Brexit when explaining why they would continue to do so.

“We’re paying an exit fee but what about the money we put in? We should get some of that back,” Brian, who was out shopping with his wife Christine, told BuzzFeed News. “I think her heart is in the right place, Theresa May. I hope she gets a majority or it makes things difficult. I’m sure she will.”

Phil Martin, another long-term Tory supporter, to the horror of his young sons, felt similarly. “I feel the country needs a strong leader, especially with what’s happening now,” he told us. “I think the way May’s been so far is brilliant.”

Martin voted Leave but felt that younger Remain voters might lean towards the Lib Dems in this election – if they get out to vote at all that is. "I’ve got no faith whatsoever in Corbyn," he said, "and I think the Liberal chap is a joke.”

Many of the younger voters we spoke to in Yate weren’t planning to vote. “I know it’s bad but I just don’t want to get involved in politics and all that,” one young mum told us.

“I haven’t got a scooby doo about it,” said a man working on a fruit stall who didn't give his name and appeared to be in his early twenties. He didn’t vote in the EU referendum and doesn't intend to vote in June. “One person’s not going to make a difference," he said. "That’s just my opinion."

Fellow fruits stall worker Elliot voted Leave in the EU referendum, but doesn't think he would vote in June’s general election. “I don’t really trust any of them to be fair," he said.

Nonetheless, Elliot wasn’t worried by May’s hardline stance on Brexit, nor did he think being out of the EU would do his fruit business any harm. “In terms of fruit prices in Europe, nothing’s changed – at the end of the day, they still need our business,” he said. “If anything we’ll get more local English stuff, which is good for this area.”

Among the many people at Yate’s shopping centre, only one, Lucy, who was watching her toddler son in the play area, told us she was voting Lib Dem. Protecting public services like the NHS was her deciding factor. “I think people here care about medical care so they will go for a soft Brexit,” she said.

But Tory-voting Martin believed the NHS was safe under whoever was elected. “I hope the Tories don’t get rid of the NHS, but I can’t believe for a minute that the country would let them,” he said.