David Cameron used to lament to Conservative MPs that he lacked “a people”. There was no group of voters indelibly associated with him, no equivalent of Margaret Thatcher’s “Essex Man” or New Labour’s “Worcester Woman”.
Since entering No 10, Theresa May has been clear about who her people are: the “just managing”. They are in employment but afflicted by job insecurity and inadequate wages. They own a home but struggle with mortgage repayments. They are socially conservative and economically interventionist. They have few resources to draw on in bad times.
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