Theresa May: I will make Brexit work for Yorkshire

Next week, voters across Yorkshire face an important choice as they decide who will lead our country over the next five years, through Brexit and in the years beyond.

It is a chance to get behind that decision and to join me in the national effort we need to fulfil that promise. I am confident that we can build a Britain that is stronger, fairer and even more prosperous than it is today. The promise of Brexit is great and the opportunities before us enormous. If we get Brexit right, then together we can do great things.

I am confident that we can make a success of it because I believe in Britain, in our country and in our people. I know that if we set our collective national energies on a task, our country can achieve great things. Nowhere is that more true than in Yorkshire, a county that boasts a great wealth of talent.

Our task over the next five years is to make the most of the talents of every part of the country as we seize the opportunities ahead. I have a clear plan to make the most of that better future.

That starts with securing the best deal from Brexit to control our laws, borders and money. But it also means getting a better deal for working people here at home.

Any government I lead will always put helping working families at the heart of its approach. For too many people, life is much harder than many politicians realise. People rightly expect their government to help them where it can.

So a Conservative government will help more people have a home of their own by building more affordable houses, while also safeguarding our natural environment. We will tackle the cost of living by capping rip-off energy tariffs and keeping taxes low. And using the proceeds of a strong economy, we will increase the NHS budget every year to ensure every family has the care they need.

I want to see every community thrive. Right across Yorkshire’s beautiful countryside, from the valleys and peaks of the Dales to the rugged east coast, Yorkshire’s farmers work hard to produce top-quality produce. As we leave the EU, I will back them by continuing to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the Parliament. This will provide the industry with certainty as we work with farmers, food producers and other experts to devise new policies tailored to our needs. And we will bring sustainable growth to the rural economy, boosting our countryside communities, so that people who live there have the same opportunities as those who live in Yorkshire’s great towns and cities.

Those great cities were engine rooms of the Industrial Revolution in the past, and I want to help them fulfill their full potential in the future. Our modern Industrial Strategy will spread wealth and opportunity to every community in the UK. To achieve that, we need to ensure that we help people gain the skills they need to succeed, so we will establish new Institutes of Technology, backed by leading employers and working closely with Yorkshire’s great universities, in each major city in Yorkshire. We will also make sure every child gets the best start in life by increasing school funding every year.

By striking new trade deals for goods and services with new friends and old partners around the world, the global Britain we will build in the years ahead will help businesses in Yorkshire create more and better-paid jobs, with new rights and protections for workers. That will mean more opportunity for our young people and greater economic security for working families.

But all this depends on getting the next five years right. Without a successful Brexit, none of this will be possible. And without strong and stable leadership from a team with a plan, and the will, to deliver, we will not be able to fulfill the great promise of the future.

Now, more than ever, Britain needs a Government with a strengthened hand to get the best deal for our country and to make the most of the opportunities Brexit brings. Every vote for me will strengthen my hand in the Brexit negotiations to come. A vote for any other party in this election risks making Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister, at the head of a coalition of chaos made up of the minor parties. If my party loses just six seats here in Yorkshire, then we lose our Parliamentary majority and that risk becomes a reality.

That would be bad for Yorkshire and bad for Britain.

We are at the start of a momentous journey. With the support of people in Yorkshire, I am determined that we will seize the opportunities which lie ahead and build a Britain that truly works for everyone.

Theresa May is the Conservative leader and Prime Minister.