PM must earn Yorkshire voters’ support

OKAY MRS May, you want a mandate of your own. But if Yorkshire is to give you it, show us you deserve it.

This region has had a bellyful of warm words but a lack of action. Successive prime ministers have turned up for visits and eye-catching photo-opportunities, made sympathetic noises, and then failed to put their money where their mouth is.

You’ve played that game too, since sweeping so effortlessly into Downing Street last summer. But it won’t wash any more.

If the country’s largest county is to give the backing you seek, there can be no more broken promises, no more vague pledges of jam tomorrow, no more ignoring Yorkshire’s legitimate claims for the resources it needs and the priority in Government thinking that it deserves.

Theresa May must listen to Yorkshire’s case, and heed it, for it is not made because of narrow self-interest.

To give our region the support and economic stimulus it needs is to benefit the whole country as it faces up to the realities of Brexit, by unleashing the strength of an already vibrant economy capable of giving Britain so much more.

That is why the Conservative manifesto for the June 8 election must be clear and unequivocal in its commitment to the regions, and Yorkshire in particular.

Ever since becoming Prime Minister, one of Mrs May’s principal themes has been a commitment to make the economy work for everyone.

If she leads her party to victory in seven weeks’ time with an increased majority – as is overwhelmingly likely – Mrs May must make good on that pledge.

And for Yorkshire, that means taking decisive steps to sort out a whole series of long-standing problems, over which there are no quibbles about what needs to be done.

Yesterday’s announcement was all about the need for decisiveness in decision-making.

Good. That is to be welcomed, because Government decisiveness in addressing Yorkshire’s needs is precisely what is required after years of prevarication.

A series of straightforward steps would not only unlock huge economic potential within our region – to the benefit of its people and businesses – but also strengthen the whole of Britain in forging a new future after Brexit.

On June 9, the Prime Minister should stand ready to take those steps.

She should commit to the funds and a firm timescale to create a fast, electrified trans-Pennine rail route that once and for all banishes the hopelessly slow travelling times between the great cities of the North.

There must also be action on relieving the road congestion that threatens to strangle economic progress, with measures taken on major routes, including the M62 and A64, which will allow companies to thrive.

Wishful thinking about creating a Northern Powerhouse should be translated into action on bringing cities together to help each other – and the wider economy – become the world force that they could be.

And the fruitless, frustrating deadlock on devolved government for Yorkshire must be broken once and for all, with political wrangling and petty turf wars set aside that so that our region can speak with a strong, unified voice.

It isn’t only about the big cities. There must also be firm assurances that the rural economy will receive the support it needs in the years ahead once Britain leaves the EU.

This is a realistic, and achievable, list of commitments for a Prime Minister genuine in her desire to make the economy work for everyone.

Not only that, but pressing on with giving Yorkshire the help it requires would be a significant stride towards closing the North-South divide that has bedevilled Britain – and held it back – for so long.

If the forthcoming general election is not only to be a cynical party political exercise in thumping an enfeebled Labour Party, putting the upstart SNP in its place and steamrollering an irrelevant Ukip, Mrs May needs to look beyond the confines of Westminster.

She ought to raise her sights to the regions, to Yorkshire in particular, and recognise that the prosperity of postBrexit Britain demands that Government stinginess and lack of investment must end.

We stand at yet another historic moment in an extraordinary 12 months. It has fallen to Mrs May to lead Britain out of the EU, and barring an unthinkable result, she will do so from a position of increased strength within a couple of months.

Yorkshire will back her – but only if she recognises the merits of our case and delivers. Over to you, Mrs May.