Britain needs hope for a better future

WITH the opinion polls narrowing and election day firmly in view, both Labour and the Conservatives have re-focused on the core issue of Brexit.

This is entirely appropriate. Without the vote for Brexit, this election would not be taking place.

If a majority in Wales and England had not voted for Brexit then David Cameron would still be Prime Minister and George Osborne in all likelihood would remain in the Treasury.

Mr Cameron’s post-referendum resignation created the opportunity for Theresa May to run for the leadership. The challenge of negotiating Brexit presented her with a justification for going for a snap election in the hope of winning a larger majority.

The Brexit vote provided the impetus for a move against Jeremy Corbyn by Labour MPs who were unimpressed with his performance during the referendum campaign. His resounding victory in the second leadership contest ensured he would be Mrs May’s opposite number when Article 50 was triggered.

The two parties know that it will be impossible to win the keys of Downing St if their leaders are not trusted on Brexit.

Mrs May has thought she enjoys a key advantage in this area when pitted against Mr Corbyn. But with Labour doing radically better in the polls than in recent months, Mr Corbyn has ventured onto this territory.

He argues Mrs May would turn the UK into a “low-wage, offshore tax haven”. He also alleged she had created a “toxic climate” for the start of the talks.

The Labour leader is clearly heartened by the response to his manifesto, with voters apparently warming to his vision for Britain. This may have encouraged him to address how he wants the country to change as it confronts Brexit.

But Mrs May is not about to cede this territory to her rival. She has injected optimism into the Brexit challenge, arguing that the country can emerge “stronger, fairer and even more prosperous”.

The PM opposed leaving the EU last year but she now argues the “Britain beyond Brexit” could be “more global and outward-looking”.

Perhaps sensing that people want to look to the future with hope, she now talks about a “Britain alive with possibilities”.

She will face questions how a country can be “more global” if its Government is determined to drive net migration down to the tens of thousands. But it is important that parties give people concrete reasons to look to the future with optimism.

A Britain defined by pessimism, led by a political class resigned to managing decline, will not attract international investment and will lack the confidence which drives innovation.

The Welsh economy would be shattered if trade with the rest of the UK was curtailed. It is not in the interests of Wales, the UK or Europe to impede trading links.

During the negotiations and beyond, the goal must be to ensure that ideology is not allowed to stifle job-creating prosperity. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2014 was 78.5%