What has happened to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn? He appears to have gone from zero to hero in three months. Not only is he speaking sense on many key policies from security to foreign policy, he even looks like a would-be prime minister. His supporters say that he is doing what he does best: being out on the streets talking to the public and trying to get his message across. He is a politician of the old style. Some may say that his policies belong to another era but he can take credit for slashing the Conservative lead in the opinion polls to just five points.
But is anyone really surprised that the Conservatives are now suffering? Their election campaign was built on Brexit, but for many Brexit is not the key election issue: it is the health service, education and security. May and her cabinet colleagues appear to be reading from a script, and it is a script which was well received initially. "Hard Brexit" appeared to keep her backbenchers happy and the electorate. But things have changed. The horrific Manchester bombing has put security firmly in the spotlight. Corbyn said yesterday that the war on terror had failed and he is right. British foreign policy can be blamed partly for making the country a terror target. What May must realise is that one of the chief concerns of British people at the moment is being safe in their own country. Brexit has taken a back seat. Corbyn is offering answers and May isn't.