May promises Yorkshire a Brexit dividend

THERESA MAY promised Yorkshire will enjoy a Brexit dividend as she made an audacious bid for traditional Labour territory with her Conservative manifesto launched in Halifax.
Theresa May launched the Conservative manifesto in YorkshireTheresa May launched the Conservative manifesto in Yorkshire
Theresa May launched the Conservative manifesto in Yorkshire

The highly personal document promised a Conservative election victory will trigger the creation of a new fund using money saved by leaving the European Union to tackle the North-South divide.

‘Forward Together’ also pledged action to tackle the gap in performance between schools in Yorkshire and other parts of the country, an issue repeatedly highlighted by former chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw.

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But Conservative candidates will face tough questions from Yorkshire voters over plans to make it easier for fracking firms to explore for gas and there will be disappointment that a commitment to high speed trans-Pennine rail services was not matched with a budget or a timetable for delivery.

The document saw Mrs May ditch a string of pledges inherited from her predecessor.

She left the way open for income tax or national insurance to rise, only guaranteeing VAT will not increase.

In a significant shift away from the previous protection given to older people from austerity measures, the triple-lock on pensions was replaced by a guarantee they will rise in line with earnings or inflation.

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A promise to cap care costs was torn up in favour of a radical overhaul of the care system which will see more people having to meet the costs and wealthier pensioners losing their winter fuel payments.

Free school meals for infants were also dropped - which the Liberal Democrats claimed would hit 98,000 Yorkshire children - but there was protection for budgets in schools that could lose out under proposed funding formula changes.

In the most intervenionist Conservative manifesto seen in recent memory there were promises to take action on energy bills, give workers’ stronger rights, new rules governing company takeovers and mergers and laws on executive pay,

Alongside Mrs May’s well-worn promise of “strong and stable leadership, the Prime Minister said she wanted to turn the country into the “Great Meritocracy” as Britain leaves the EU.

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With talks over Britain’s exit from the European Union looming, Mrs May admitted that “the next five years will be among the most challenging in our lifetime”.

She described Brexit as a moment “to step back and ask ourselves what kind of country we want to build together”.

In a direct appeal to Labour voters, she said: “It is time to put the old, tribal politics and to come together in the national interest, united in our desire to make a success of Brexit.”

And in a fresh effort to portray Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour as a party of the hard-left, Mrs May staked her claim to the political centre-ground, promising her “mainstream government will deliver for mainstream Britain”.

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There were noisy protestors outside the venue as people carrying banners from the Unite union protested against zero hours contracts and claimed the Conservatives wanted to take Britain back to the Victorian era.

Holly Lynch, who is defending the Halifax seat for Labour, said: “Where were the big names in the Conservative Party when we were trying to save our A&E or secure investment in our rail services? They washed their hands of the issues and argued they couldn’t step in to help,” she said.

“There was nothing strong or stable about cutting 1,200 police officers from West Yorkshire Police stretching our force like never before, or closing the courts in Halifax ending 140 years of justice provision in the town.

“I’ve always sought to work constructively with the Government to find solutions to the problems we’re dealing with in Halifax, but when they only show up at election time people see through their empty promises.”