Tory canvassers are refusing to mention “toxic” Theresa May as they try to woo people ahead of next month’s local elections.
The Conservatives are braced for a bruising as angry voters switch to either Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party or Remain-supporting groups.
And unhappy activists reckon the PM’s Brexit performance has made her a liability as they campaign.
Grassroots Conservatives chair Ed Costelloe said: “Campaigners are only talking about what’s happening at a local level, because the frustration they are hearing about what’s going on at a national level is virtually universal.
“Most people canvassing are saying this is worse than anything before.
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“Pretty much no one has anything good to say about [Mrs May]. She just should not be there.”
North East Cambridgeshire Conservative Association chair Jan French added: “I don’t talk about her at all.
“We are having a tough time on the doorsteps.”
And Dinah Glover, of the East of London area Conservatives, said: “I don’t think there has been a time when a Conservative government has been such a negative to a campaign.
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“People sense betrayal that Brexit is not being delivered.”
It came after Tory activist Chris Rose said earlier this week Mrs May had “made wearing a blue rosette... toxic”.
Meanwhile, the PM had more luck marshalling runners yesterday than she has directing her MPs on Brexit.
She and hubby Philip, back from a break in Snowdonia, helped at the Maidenhead Easter 10k in her Berkshire seat.
She returns to Westminster next week amid ongoing rows with her backbenchers about her thrice-rejected EU Withdrawal Agreement.
