YP Comment: Theresa May's manifesto tests. Tories must make positive case

THERESA May has two significant grounds for optimism as she prepares to unveil the Tory manifesto '“ the reputed £58bn '˜black hole' in Labour's own spending plans and confirmation yesterday that the UK's jobless rate has fallen to a 32-year low because a record number of people are in work.
Theresa May and Philip Hammond at a pre-manifesto press conference overshadowed by reports of splits between the Prime Minister and Chancellor.Theresa May and Philip Hammond at a pre-manifesto press conference overshadowed by reports of splits between the Prime Minister and Chancellor.
Theresa May and Philip Hammond at a pre-manifesto press conference overshadowed by reports of splits between the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

The Prime Minister must also guard against complacency. Seven years after coming to power, Tory attempts to eradicate the deficit are still a ‘work in progress’ while reported tensions between Mrs May and the Chancellor are 
such that Philip Hammond can no longer be assured of his job.

Given that Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and now Unite power-broker Len McCluskey have effectively conceded defeat with three weeks to go, the Tory leader intends to demonstrate statesmanship by setting out her strategy for five defining policy challenges, including Brexit, as she seeks her own mandate.

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In doing so, Mrs May needs to pass three tests. First, the Tories need to back up their policy prospectus with clearly costed plans – they’re not immune to the public’s deep scepticism about politics and politicians per se.

Second, the PM should make a positive case for Conservative values rather than regurgitating her tried and tested soundbites. Simply expecting people to vote Tory because Labour is bereft of credibility must not suffice – her mandate will be all the stronger if it’s achieved on the back of a forward-looking manifesto which inspires the country and its work ethic.

Third, Mrs May needs to demonstrate how her manifesto will make a material, and lasting, difference in those Yorkshire mill towns and communities along the M62 corridor where the vote will determine the final outcome on June 8. Labour’s launch in Bradford on Tuesday promised to turn the clock back; Mrs May needs to show that the Conservatives are the party for not only these times but the future as well.

Debt to society

NEARLY 10 years after the emergency bailout of Northern Rock as the credit crunch brought the global economy crashing down, the return of Lloyds Banking Group to private ownership represents a milestone moment.

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Even though the £20.3bn of public money pumped into Lloyds has resulted in a profit of £894m finally being accrued, it has come a cost. Key public services have been scaled back, and living standards squeezed, because of those banks which let borrowing spiral out of control.

It’s not over yet. Other financial institutions are taking even longer to recover – an indication of the scale of this crisis and the reason why successive Chancellors have had to bide their time so taxpayers receive a modest return 
for having been held to ransom in this manner.

Yet, with the Tories on the side of responsible capitalism, today’s manifesto should include meaningful measures to hold this sector to account in future – it is frankly insulting to many families that so few banking chiefs paid the price for their irresponsibility.

Equally, the banks need to be reminded of their wider debt to society. Though digital technology is transforming the financial sector, the rate of branch closures is troubling because of the knock-on consequences for town centres and consumers alike. The Yorkshire Post 
has suggested that banks should be required to set out details of alternative provision for at least five years whenever they do propose to shut a branch. A decade on, it’s a small price to pay and the very least that they can do.

Laid to rest at last

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PRIVATE HENRY Parker was just another grim statistic when he was killed in the Battle of the Somme, the fate of the Yorkshire soldier unknown until his remains were discovered nearly a century later in a farmer’s field in France and successfully identified thanks to advancements in DNA technology which had not even been discovered when the First World War still raged.

Yet the very fact that the 22-year-old, from Weaverthorpe, could finaly be buried in a simple service with full military honours is testimony to the remarkable – and often unheralded – work of the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre which attempts to trace family members when remains are found. Without this work, ably assisted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which continues to maintain cemeteries and burial sites to an exemplary standard, selfless heroes like Private Parker would still be lying in unmarked graves with their stories of sacrifice untold.