Because she thinks this is too good an opportunity to miss and says she wants to be in a stronger position for Brexit negotiations. Pollsters are putting the Conservatives on 44% and Labour on 23%, giving the Prime Minister a 21-point lead, the highest for the Tories in government since May 1992. “May has called this election for two reasons: one is it’s an open goal – it’s just a case of putting the ball into the net. The other is she expects potential problems in her own party,” says Andrew Blick, lecturer in politics and contemporary history at King's College London. “Whichever way these Brexit negotiations go – whether it’s soft or hard Brexit – she will upset one wing of her party. In other words, there will be problems unless she has a powerful mandate.”