David Cameron has defended the Conservatives’ record during a visit to York where he called on voters to back them and deny a Labour government a blank cheque.
The Conservative Foreign Secretary pointed to his party’s record on housing, the NHS and infrastructure in his pitch to York Outer voters during the visit yesterday (Thursday).
Labour were now trying to take credit for local Conservative achievements, Lord Cameron said – taking a swipe at Keir Starmer who visited Fulford’s Germany Beck housing development last week.
Lord Cameron’s visit to the Curlew Fields Diary Farm in Hessay comes as the general election campaign enters its final week before polling day on Thursday, 4 July.
He is the first senior Conservative figure to visit the seat which Julian Sturdy is seeking to hold after first winning it in 2010.
Labour has sent Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves to York Outer in support of their candidate Luke Charters.
Lord Cameron said voters who wanted someone who could stand up to Labour government with a large majority should back Mr Sturdy.
He declined to answer whether he was concerned about Labour putting its tanks on the Conservatives’ lawn but said his party were better placed to navigate a more dangerous world.
‘Switched on local MP’
The Foreign Secretary said: “We’ve got a dental plan worth £200m that’s going to result in millions more appointments.
“We know there’s now dental practices in the middle of York which have lists open to patients but we know we need to do more to get the funding to the frontline of the NHS.
“If you look at Yorkshire as a whole there are 7,700 more nurses than there were in 2010 and 3,700 more doctors, the money we’ve put into the health service is starting to show benefits.
“To improve the housing situation the most important thing to do is to get the infrastructure and the houses built.
“I’ve been coming here for many years and in the years after 2010 the Conservatives were the ones who improved infrastructure like getting the money for dualling the York Outer Ring Road.
“Things like the Germany Beck housing development were delayed for years and it was a Conservative government and council that unblocked that, now Keir Starmer and Labour are turning up to take credit for it.
“You’ve got an active, switched on local MP who works hard.
“If the polls are right then it’s going to be even more important to have someone who knows the area and who can stand up for the area and potentially stand up to a Labour government that feels it’s got a blank cheque.”