The discussion was calm, measured, sober. Until, that is, the subject of whether Theresa May should have taken part in the televised leaders’ debate cropped up.

Naomi, a 38-year-old carer and cleaner, pictured above, could not hold back. “It’s stupid. She should debate. If she wants to lead the country she should damn well get up there and debate it. What’s she going to do? Sit there and do her bloody knitting?”

Mary, a PhD student, agreed. “You called the election. Don’t call an election if you’re not going to put the time into communicating with people. It’s undemocratic.”

Someone else reckoned the prime minister had been well advised – she probably would not have fared well against a resurgent Jeremy Corbyn. Martin, 63, a structural engineer who had just got out of his car following a tiring business trip, said May was no Tony Blair or David Cameron when it came to performing for the cameras.

“Blair and Cameron had charisma. They loved the cameras and the stage. If they were good at anything they were good at that. I think Theresa May knows her limitations.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Martin at the focus group. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

For an hour and a half, eight undecided voters from the key constituency of Wells in Somerset did gladly take part in a lively, wide-ranging debate.

Brought together by the consultancy BritainThinks, the focus group discussed the local problems that annoy them and the national issues that trouble them. Would they vote for the party that would best handle Brexit? Or plump for the local candidate who would work on improving the state of their roads, the frankly wretched mobile signal or help protect school funding?

Wells is a classic two-horse race between the Tories and Liberal Democrats. In 2015 the former army officer James Heappey took the seat for the Conservatives from the energetic and popular Lib Dem Tessa Munt. She is putting everything into getting the seat back and earlier this month showed she was capable of an upset when she grabbed the Wells county council seat from the Tory leader of the council.

It was striking here how well the focus group members knew their local candidates. “Tessa Munt came to my house, sat on my sofa and drank a cup of coffee with me,” said Naomi. (Munt might have just had a hot water – she avoids tea and coffee). “It wasn’t politics related. She was helping me with something. She was really nice. It was like having a mate round. I really like her.”



Alex, 30, who works in facilities management for a supermarket chain and had taken a night off from building his own home to attend, said Heappey seemed “all right”.

But there were tuts and shakes of the head when Heappey’s headline-grabbing visit to the fee-paying Millfield school was raised. He told a Scottish sixth-former to “fuck off” after the teenager said she would vote for independence if there was a second referendum.

“He did slip up,” said Alex. “He let his guard down. He forgot who he was, where he was. I’m not making excuses for him. It was a shame. I didn’t see that side of him before.”



Gareth, a 45-year-old chartered surveyor, sees the two candidates as strong enough to keep each other on their toes. “The two of them have such energy. One is on the heels of the other, keeping the other on the straight line. If he [Heappey] keeps on swearing at schoolkids she has a chance of getting in.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gareth, a chartered surveyor, at the focus group in Wells. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

During previous pieces on the Wells constituency the Guardian has found voters prepared to ditch age-old party loyalties. We have spoken to Tory stalwarts ready to vote for the Lib Dems, Ukip supporters who may vote Labour (Ukip is not standing here) and residents of neighbourhoods that feel as if they should be Labour strongholds about to back May because they perceive her as strong – a new Margaret Thatcher.

But few have spoken unprompted of Brexit. Asked at the start of the focus group meeting what the key issues were for them, participants mentioned the NHS, social care, public transport, housing, the time it takes to get an ambulance to an emergency. Once again, there was no mention of leaving the EU.

When the subject of the party leaders was raised, though, Brexit suddenly became central.

Gareth said: “Brexit is the biggest thing since the second world war. [Jeremy] Corbyn is a nice guy. He wants to go and talk to everybody but we haven’t got time for that. We need the best person in there to get us the best deal.” It was clear he meant May.

Martin agreed. “I was a remainer. But I think the worst thing this country could do is do a U-turn on that. There would be riots on the streets. One of the reasons for this election is Brexit, and she [May] wants to do the negotiations without her hands being tied. She wants the distractions to disappear.”

“I felt really strongly about remaining in Europe,” said Mary. “Now I feel really strongly about allowing the democratic process to go ahead.”

And yet the group did not seem wholly convinced by May or her party. They saw Tories as “posh” hunting and shooting types who went to Eton and feasted on caviar and oysters. May was regarded as experienced, capable, but also prone to perform U-turns – whether it be on calling a general election or on the “dementia tax”.

“It’s a typical politician thing,” said Alex. “You say one thing and maybe sometimes do another.”

Katie, a 28-year-old cafe owner who has been discussing May with Naomi, spoke for both: “We were both initially really positive when she first started the role. But is she out of touch with what we want? I think she knows what high earners want. I think maybe we don’t think she’s doing much to gather information from people like us.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Katie at the focus group. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

They might have been lukewarm towards May. But the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who was in the constituency in May taking part in a photo op on a rescue hovercraft at Burnham-on-Sea, has not impressed this group at all.

The panel was split into three groups to write down impressions of the leaders. One group called the Lib Dem leader “Tim Farrow” while a second had him down as “Tim Fararge” [sic]. The final group, at least, got his name right and the retired schoolteacher Vicky, 68, gave him an A+ for effort.

There was a lively, jokey discussion about the Lib Dem promise to legalise cannabis – but deep concern that Farron is promising a second Brexit referendum. “I would normally vote Lib Dem but that is a major, major thing for me,” said Martin. Gareth said he couldn’t vote for Munt because of the second referendum pledge.

It began to look sticky for the Lib Dems but then the focus group was asked to consider how they would feel if there was a large Conservative majority. Both Naomi and Katie said it would be “stressful”.

“There would be more pressure on teachers, the NHS,” said Katie. “There will probably be a stronger economy, but long term will people be happier? Financially maybe we’d be great. In terms of how people are feeling maybe not so great.”

Mary, the PhD student, added: “Because of Brexit I don’t want lots of Conservative policies to be shoehorned in. It’s really important they listen to what people want.”

“Ideally, we need enough Conservatives in the House of Commons so she can get on with the Brexit negotiations unhindered,” said Martin. “Otherwise we’re going to go round and round in circles. We need just enough Conservative people in there … But it doesn’t work like that does it?”

The session concluded with a secret-ish ballot. The group members were asked to say, if they had to choose immediately, who they would vote for. Based on the tone of the debate the smart money was on a Tory majority. The result? A 4-4 tie between Munt and Heappey. It’s still all to play for in Wells.