Yorkshire to be key battleground as Tories and Lib Dems line up targets

PM THERESA MAY CALLS SNAP GENERAL ELECTION

YORKSHIRE IS set to be a key battleground in Theresa May’s fight to secure a mandate for her hard Brexit plans, following her surprise decision to call a snap election on June 8.

The Tories and Lib Dems are already lining up potential targets in the region, after Mrs May backtracked on her pledge not to go to the country early in order to strengthen her hand in upcoming negotiations

The announcement follows polling which puts the Conservatives 21 points ahead of Labour, with claims that this could result in the latter losing up to 56 seats in the election which is only seven weeks away. And speaking to The Yorkshire

Post, Tory MPs indicated that few seats will be out of bounds as the Prime Minister looks to shore up support before talks get tough.

“If the polls are to be believed then there are a number of seats that will come into play that we perhaps haven’t considered in the past,” said party vice chairman and Pudsey MP Stuart Andrew.

“[This includes] Dewsbury and Wakefield – we could even see some changes in some of the Leeds and Bradford seats for all we know.

“As a candidate in an election, I never take the electorate for granted. What we’ve got to do now is make sure we get our message out there on to the doorsteps. But now is the time when we need a very strong leader, we need a very strong government, so that we can have confidence to get the very best deal out of the EU.”

It has previously been reported that the Tories have plans to target up to 30 Labour seats in the North, as the party struggles to retain support under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Following yesterday’s an-

It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

nouncement, two Labour MPs confirmed they would not stand in June’s election, including the veteran Hull West MP and former Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Other Labour MPs have expressed despair about the party’s prospects, with many expecting significant losses. But the Tories are not alone in looking to gain from Labour’s misfortunes, after Lib Dem leader Tim Farron claimed his party stands a “very strong chance” in seats like Hull West, York and Harrogate.

“Yorkshire is really important to us because... there is only one plausible route by which the Conservatives can lose this election and that is the Liberal Democrats,” Mr Farron told this paper.

“The people of Yorkshire have a great opportunity to make sure Britain remains a democracy and has a strong and vibrant opposition.”

MPs are expected vote on a motion to trigger an early election later today.