Theresa May sets out upbeat picture of post-Brexit Britain
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Version 0 of 1. Theresa May has promised to “reach out to everyone, in every community” in the final week before the general election, as she set out an upbeat picture of post-Brexit Britain in an attempt to inject fresh vigour into the Conservatives’ campaign. The prime minister was upstaged by Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, on Wednesday when he made a last-minute decision to appear in the seven-way televised BBC debate, seeking to exploit the sense that May is ducking questions, after her U-turn over social care. But speaking at a construction firm in Guisborough on Thursday, the prime minister insisted that she would “fight to earn every vote in this election”, adding: “Every vote will be a step towards that brighter future that we will build, together, after Brexit.” Instead of the usual “strong and stable” message, May’s bright blue backdrop – set out in front of a large industrial digger – promised “a Brexit deal for a bright future”. She devoted more time to setting out her domestic policy plans and launched fewer personal attacks on Corbyn than in recent public appearances. She stressed her commitment to funding the NHS, building new grammar schools and improving further education. “The NHS is the essence of solidarity in our UK: the institution that binds us all together; a symbol of our commitment to each other; between young and old, those who have and have not, the healthy and the sick,” she said, highlighting the Tories’ manifesto promise to boost health service spending by at least £8bn a year by the end of the parliament – though she would not say where the extra funds would come from. May said the rules preventing local authorities from opening new selective schools were “a scandal, and we will bring it to an end”. And she linked her renewed pledge to cut immigration to the tens of thousands, set out in the manifesto, with planned reforms of vocational education, which she said would prepare British youngsters for the jobs available in a post-Brexit economy. “We will invest in the next generation, so the people growing up in Britain today are ready and able to seize the opportunities ahead,” she said, promising to “revolutionise skills education”. May was speaking in the Middlesbrough and East Cleveland constituency, in the first step on a tour of northern Labour seats the Tories hope they can take. Her optimistic tone contrasted with her speech in Wolverhampton earlier in the week, which was peppered with warnings about Corbyn’s leadership, including the claim that he would be “alone and naked in the negotiating chamber” when talks start in earnest just after the election. She returned to the theme of the government’s white paper on Brexit, talking about the 12 principles she says will guide her negotiations with the rest of the EU. Asked about Peter Cuthbertson, the Tory candidate for Darlington who, the Guardian reported, wrote a series of articles in the early 2000s expressing views about the “promiscuity” of women, and saying victims’ sexual history should be taken into account in rape trials, the prime minister said: “Peter has made clear that his position has changed.” Asked whether she agreed with Boris Johnson’s claim that the audience for the BBC debate was biased, she said: “What I think about last night’s debate is that Amber Rudd did an absolutely excellent job.” |