YP Comment: Ignore North at your peril - William Hague warning to Tories

After all, Lord Hague – the former Richmond MP – has first-hand experience of Conservative blood-letting over Europe. He was in the Cabinet when John Major’s government tore itself apart in the 1990s. And, when Mr Hague became party leader and campaigned in the 2001 election “to save the pound”, the Tories were annihilated at the polls.

Irrespective of whether Britain votes to remain in the European Union, or chooses to break free from Brussels and forge new trading alliances in a 21st century global economy, the Government still has a mandate – and duty – to fulfil the promises that it made last May, and this means putting in place the policy framework so this sleeping giant of a county can become a financial and industrial powerhouse.

This is not just the responsibility for Ministers – there has to be an onus on Yorkshire’s own business and political leaders being prepared to not only accept responsibility but work together for the greater good of the county. But bread and butter issues like the funding of new transport infrastructure, or polices to transform school standards, can’t be left to individual town halls; they don’t have the resources after decades of under-investment. Yet, while the EU has become the dominant issue because Mr Cameron regarded such a vote as the best way of settling decades of Tory turmoil, it is not the only issue in a county which was not afraid to punish the Conservatives when the party previously took the electorate for granted. If history is not to repeat itself, the ex-Foreign Secretary’s wisdom needs to be acknowledged.

Dales off message: Tourism dilemma over mobile phones

THAT tourism income in the Yorkshire Dales continues to grow is testament to the enduring appeal, both nationally and internationally, of this magnificent National Park. Without this influx of visitors 52 weeks a year, the considerable financial challenges facing the county’s rural economy would be far greater.

Yet it is also a double-edged sword. One of the great attractions of the Dales is the fact that people can genuinely escape to the country because mobile phone reception and wi-fi coverage is so intermittent. For many visitors, this solitude is priceless and part of the area’s appeal.

Trying telling this, however, to those homeowners and rural enterprises struggling to survive in the digital age because they don’t even have the most basic of broadband. For them, any tourism dividend is countered by the long-term loss of business and income.

They have a point – and the Government’s decision to abandon its Mobile Infrastructure Project is beginning to look very short-sighted and further evidence why Ministers need to acknowledge Lord Hague’s warnings about the North – after all, it was his good fortune to represent large swathes of the Dales in Parliament for 26 years.

If the Glastonbury music festival can provide wi-fi in hedgerows for concert goers, there’s no reason why similar technical ingenuity cannot be applied to North Yorkshire’s rolling hills. And for those visitors still worried about the prospect of their ubiquitous mobile phone interfering with their holiday R&R, there is a very simple and free solution which can be used at the discretion of each individual. It’s called the off button.

We are neutral

IT WILL not have escaped your attention that today the Liberal Democrats party has paid for a spread of advertising on pages two and three of The Yorkshire Post.

That we have accepted the booking in no way amounts to an endorsement of its message.

The Yorkshire Post is unswervingly committed to its neutral stance on the EU referendum and has been at pains through our Yorkshire Decides campaign to offer up facts, insight and analysis of the highest calibre from commentators of utmost repute.

Our commercial policy is to accept all advertisements that meet the criteria laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority.

We would, and do, accept such advertising bookings from any political party provided they meet the legal requirements and fall within those ASA guidelines.

This newspaper will not tell you which way to go on the EU referendum, we only ask that you make every effort to cast your vote.