The Spectator’s Notes | 18 May 2017

‘Exclusive invitation: I want to hear from you, Charles’, it said in my inbox. Theresa May wanted me to take part in her ‘telephone town hall’, she told me, offering ‘an opportunity to voice your opinions and ask questions directly to me in a simple and open way’. Unfortunately, the line was open only between 7 and 8 on Tuesday night, and I was engaged elsewhere. One thing I might have asked was ‘Who do you listen to before you say something in public?’ Although Mrs May has a reputation for caution, she is capable of throwing out ideas which sound as if they have not been tested on the people they might affect. What employers — in particular, what small employers — were asked what they think of granting all employees a ‘statutory right to leave’ to give family members full-time care for up to 52 weeks? The Conservatives wish to be the party of the workers.