Sacked Justine Greening issues warning on future of North's young people

The Rotherham-born politician was speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post in her first newspaper interview since losing her job in Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle just three weeks ago.

In a wide-ranging interview, the 48-year-old vowed to continue campaigning on the issue of social mobility, and equality of opportunity, while promising to “speak up for young people” in the Brexit debate.

Her intervention came on another tough day for the embattled Prime Minister as Tory divisions over Britain’s departure from the European Union intensified still further as leading Brexiteers asserted themselves.

With EU leaders warning that Britain will have to obey the Brussels rule-book during any transition period, Brexit Secretary David Davis said he would be having an argument about whether the UK can sign new trade agreements after March 2019.

His promise came hours after John Redwood, a veteran Eurosceptic MP, tweeted: “Britain has fallen over backwards to please the EU. We now need to be tough and say ‘do you want a trade deal or not?’”

The Yorkshire Post says: Clearly Justine Greening wants to be a force for good

Today, Ms Greening urges her colleagues to get behind Mrs May, deliver a “sensible” Brexit and set out a clear vision for Britain’s future once the country has left the EU.

“People want to see her supported and that starts with the Parliamentary party,” said the Remain-supporting MP who represents the marginal London seat of Putney.

Rejecting claims that Mrs May is too “timid”, another criticism of those Conservative MPs now restless about the PM’s leadership, she said: “It’s hard to overstate just how hard she works on a day-to-day and week-to-week level. I want to support the Government on the Brexit negotiations. I actually think the Prime Minister has an exceptionally difficult task. I think Parliament, and the party, need to get behind her.”

However, Ms Greening said the Government must take on board the concerns of younger voters who are be “sceptical” about Brexit and its potential impact on their future prospects.

Still fully committed to implementing the social mobility strategy that she launched last month so everyone has a fair chance get a better job than their parents, Ms Greening believes she can be just as influential as a backbencher as she spoke about the need for a cross-party consensus.

Calling for businesses to become more involved in education policy, the former economist says greater focus on the North, and its infrastructure, is key to ensuring that talented young people from all backgrounds do not, like her, have to move to London to further their careers.

In a staunch defence of the Northern Powerhouse set up by former Chancellor George Osborne before it was sidelined, Ms Greening said: “I think we need to make sure we never again take our foot off the pedal on ensuring that regions like Yorkshire, and the North more generally, get the investment they need to really play a full role, especially economically, in driving jobs and prosperity in this country.

“There’s talent growing up in every single community around the country. That’s not the problem. The issue is increasingly going to be making sure young people have opportunities on their doorstep.”

Saying “things have changed and mainly for the better” as she cited Sheffield’s regeneration success story, she added: “But, in many respects, not enough. There’s still a big job of work to do.”