YP Comment: Lasting legacy of David Cameron - Achievements outweigh faults

The positives of his six years in Downing Street far outweigh the negatives, and there is every likelihood of posterity remembering him as a good and pragmatic premier who also returned his party to being one of government after years of suffering defeat by Labour.

Only history can judge if Mr Cameron’s decision to hold a referendum on EU membership heralds a bright new dawn for Britain, or an extended period of struggle. Whichever it proves to be, it is the event that will forever define him, and the one that brought 
his premiership to an abrupt end.

Yet it should not obscure his principal achievement, that of putting Britain’s economy back on an even keel in the wake of a catastrophic financial crisis. His skill and statesmanship in steering the first peacetime coalition in 
living memory through testing times were key to that.

He did, though, make mistakes in decisions that directly affected Yorkshire. His response to last winter’s flooding was inadequate, the abolition of Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, was premature and cuts to council budgets have hit our towns and cities hard.

On the plus side, however, his support for the Northern Powerhouse has been a genuine effort to boost our region’s economy, and by delivering on both greater devolved powers and high-speed rail, Mr Cameron can be credited for practical measures from which Yorkshire will reap the benefits in the years ahead.

Mr Cameron came to power in difficult times yet leaves a positive legacy upon which his successor, Theresa May, can build. That is an honourable record, for which he deserves thanks.

Labour in turmoil

THERE is seemingly no end in sight to the turmoil within the Labour Party, which is deeply concerning for both the party’s future and for our democracy.

The bitter divisions within its ranks over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and the overwhelming lack of confidence in him by its MPs have rendered the Opposition incapable of holding the Government to account, a vital role if democracy is to function effectively.

They also pose a serious threat to the party’s future as a credible electoral force. Unless the infighting stops and the party can unify, it risks a meltdown of support in its core seats, including many in Yorkshire, as happened in Scotland.

Supporters defecting to Ukip, or even the formation of a new breakaway party of the centre-left as happened with the SDP in the 1980s, could spell disaster for Labour. Yesterday’s wranglings at the party’s National Executive Committee summed up its fractured state and undisguised hostilities.

Threats and counter-threats of legal action being made against a deeply unpleasant and menacing backdrop of intimidation of pro-and-anti-Corbyn factions can only foreshadow further protracted battles for the soul of Labour.

It is difficult to envisage how the current corrosive standoff can possibly be resolved, but it is likely that the level of bitterness within the party will increase still further.

That may manifest itself in Mr Corbyn’s supporters attempting to deselect those MPs who oppose him. Whatever the outcome of the leadership election, the only certainty is that Labour’s agonies are far from over.