YP Comment: PM's pitch to Labour voters - May targets Yorkshire support

Prime Minister Theresa May hit the campaign trail in Yorkshire for the first time yesterday, making The Yorkshire Post offices a priority call to meet our editor, James Mitchinson, and political editor, James Reed, to discuss the election and the region's importance in helping to create a stronger Britain.
Prime Minister Theresa May at The Yorkshire Post's offices in Leeds during a visit on Thursday. (YPN).Prime Minister Theresa May at The Yorkshire Post's offices in Leeds during a visit on Thursday. (YPN).
Prime Minister Theresa May at The Yorkshire Post's offices in Leeds during a visit on Thursday. (YPN).

Mrs May’s visit came ahead of a speech in Leeds last night in which she attempted to woo the Labour voters who could present her with the landslide victory she craves and strengthen her bargaining position when the crunch talks get underway with her EU counterparts.

Prior to her visit, Yorkshire had barely flickered on her political radar since becoming Prime Minister last year, and, speaking in Harehills, she made her sales pitch plain and simple.

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She said voters had a choice - either “five years of strong and stable leadership” with her at the helm, or a vote for Jeremy Corbyn and what she called a “coalition of chaos”.

It was a smart move, for Mrs May is safe in the knowledge that she has the backing of her own party. Equally she is well aware that if she can persuade traditional Labour supporters in Yorkshire to “lend” her their vote, then she has a chance of taking Labour-held seats in places like Halifax and Dewsbury.

She has one eye on the looming Brexit negotiations and made a telling reference to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments yesterday that the UK has “illusions” about the whole process.

The stakes could scarcely be any higher, which is why the Prime Minister said last night that this was the “most important election this country has faced in my lifetime.”

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Mrs May has gambled everything by calling a snap election, but knows that if she wins a big majority on June 8 she will enter these crucial talks armed with the strongest possible mandate from the British people.

Claudia’s Law - Help for families of the missing

The passing of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill yesterday was not only a landmark moment for long-suffering families, it was also a victory for commonsense and fairness.

The Bill, introduced to Parliament by Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake earlier this year, passed its final stage in the House of Lords and now just awaits Royal Assent before becoming law.

At present there is no legal provision for families to look after their loved one’s financial and legal affairs while they are missing, adding further trauma to an already unbearable situation.

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Many families struggle to ensure their missing loved one’s bills are paid, and in some cases shared savings, and even homes, have been lost.

Campaigners believe around 2,500 families in the UK will be helped by this change in the law which will ease their financial suffering considerably.

The Bill has become known as “Claudia’s Law”, in honour of Claudia Lawrence who disappeared on her way to work at the University of York in 2009, and means a guardian can be appointed after an adult has been missing for more than 90 days, allowing families and friends of missing people to manage their affairs.

It is testimony to the tireless efforts of people like Mr Hollinrake and, in particular, Claudia’s father Peter Lawrence who set aside his own anguish to campaign for these much-needed changes.

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What makes Mr Lawrence’s efforts even more commendable is these have come too late to benefit his own family. His has been a supreme act of selflessness and is an example to us all.

Piece of history - Halifax cloth hall is to reopen

IN lavishing praise on Halifax the poet Sir John Betjeman once said that the Piece Hall was symbolic of the town’s “great worth” and hidden beauty.

Now, after a restoration project costing an estimated £19m, Halifax’s historic 18th Century hall will reopen to the public at 10am on Yorkshire Day, August 1, when the bell above the west gate will ring, just as it did on New Year’s Day back in 1779, to declare the start of trading.

The Piece Hall is arguably Yorkshire’s most important non-religious building and the fulcrum around which the West Riding’s economy was built. It remains the only surviving example of the great northern pre-industrial temples in which hand-loomed pieces of cloth were bought and sold.

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It’s three years since the hall closed its doors to the public so the renovation work could begin and the project has not been without its hiccups. Nevertheless, it will be worth the wait just to see this magnificent building thriving once again.