YP Comment: May makes her pitch to voters. Brexit is the big imponderable

Yet this is a very personal manifesto. On countless occasions, Mrs May used the phrase “every vote for me and my team” while her setpiece speech made no reference whatsoever to the Conservative Party. Unlike her opponents who believe the Labour Party’s residual loyalty is greater than support for Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May is the Tory party’s best asset and this manifesto does provide the wriggle room that will enable her, if elected with an enhanced Commons majority, to take the tough decisions that will be necessary as Britain comes to terms with issues ranging from Brexit to social care.

As the Budget debacle proved, the PM needs room for manoeuvre as she attempts to balance the books, hence no costings, while reaching out to those families who are ‘just about managing’ and who feel disenfranchised as a result of the forces of globalisation.

And perhaps the most important word of all spoken by the Prime Minister was ‘If’. As she acknowledged, her laudable vision for a fairer society will only possible if Britain’s exit from the European Union is both smooth and successful. In this regard, it was significant that Mrs May was introduced onto the podium by Brexit Secretary David Davis who is seeking re-election in Haltemprice and Howden. A nod to the 56 per cent of people in Calderdale and Halifax who voted to leave the EU last June, it suggests he will, in all likelihood, retain this role in the new Government and, hopefully, become a persuasive advocate for this region in the corridors of power.

This is important. Brexit is, in fact, an opportunity to rebalance the economy away from London, and while Mrs May made no specific reference to Yorkshire, the fact she’s committed to moving civil servants moving out of the capital is one u-turn that should be welcomed. Unlike her predecessors, she’s more than prepared to use the levers of state to deliver the ethical capitalism and personal responsibility that are the bedrocks of her vision. Mrs May must now demonstrate how her remedies will work for all as Britain goes ‘forward together’ – the title of her manifesto.

Brexit high stakes

SINCE the Company of Cutlers was formed in Sheffield in 1624, it has welcomed political leaders at times of prosperity – and strife.

Yet few gatherings could have been as important as last night’s Cutlers Feast when Business Secretary Greg Clark addressed leading industrialists and manufacturers.

Coming hours after the Tory election manifesto was unveiled in Halifax, it was a timely opportunity for a frank discussion about Britain’s exit from the EU.

And two messages from the speech of Richard Edwards, the current Master Cutler, could not be more important after Theresa May linked Britain’s future fortunes to Brexit.

He pointed out in the strongest possible terms that “manufacturing is one of the jewels of the national economy” and it must not be compromised by the imposition of punitive tariffs when Britain leaves the single market. This concern is real.

Equally Mr Edwards, like so many, has little time for Brussels and spoke about how he had been left “irritated by some of the arrogant pronouncements by senior people in the EU”.

Highlighting the importance of a strong Prime Minister who can stand up for Britain, this one exchange encapsulated the magnitude of the issues at stake on June 8 for Sheffield, Yorkshire and Britain.

A Sheffield hero

doug lIGHTNING was far more than a great-great-grandfather to his doting family. The venerable 99-year-old, whose sad death has been announced, deserves to be remembered as a hero of Sheffield.

He was the last surviving firefighter from the 1940 Sheffield Blitz and was widely credited with putting out a raging blaze on the roof of the city’s iconic Town Hall – he later learned that the building housed a secret communications base.

The last of a generation, Mr Lightning and his late colleagues deserve to be remembered with the same gratitude and goodwill afforded to those members of the Armed Forces who fought for Britain’s liberty in two world wars.