THE Prime Minister visited the region today as the General Election campaign enters its final week.

Theresa May was roundly criticised for refusing to take part in a televised leaders’ debate on Wednesday night but this morning she remained bullish about her choice to sidestep the event.

In campaign speech in Guisborough, the Prime Minister said, freed from the "shackles" of Brussels, the UK could again become a "great global trading nation".

As part of her whistle-stop tour of the country, the PM visited CJ Leonard and Sons in Guisborough where she spoke in front of a small invited audience including Stockton South MP James Wharton, local councillors and Conservative activists.

And after a bruising few weeks she has seen her lead in opinion polls reduced, from more than 20 points down to three or four, all coming in the wake of a heavily criticised plan to implement a ‘dementia tax’ and a surge in popularity behind Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

In a bid to wrestle back the initiative she returned her focus to Brexit and the future negotiations with members of the European Union.

Speaking in Guisborough at CJ Leonard & Sons, which specialises in construction equipment, she told her amassed supporters that the future of the country lay in the hands of her party.

She said: “We are now 12 months on from the EU referendum. 12 months since the British people voted for a brighter future for our country. 12 months since they voted to leave the European Union and embrace the world.

“And in one week’s time, they have the opportunity to affirm that decision and secure that brighter future by voting for me to continue as Prime Minister.

“If they do, I am confident that we can fulfil the promise of Brexit together and build a Britain that is stronger, fairer and even more prosperous than it is today.

"I am confident that we can fulfil the promise of Brexit together and build a Britain that is stronger, fairer and even more prosperous than it is today.

"Because the promise of Brexit is great, the opportunities before us enormous," she said.

"Because if we get Brexit right, then together we can do great things.

"We can build a Britain beyond Brexit that is stronger, fairer and more prosperous than it is today.

"A Britain beyond Brexit that is more global and outward-looking.

"A Britain alive with possibilities, more confident in itself, more united and more secure.

"A country our children and grandchildren are proud to call home.

"If we get Brexit right, we can be a confident, self-governing country once again.

"A country that takes the decisions that matter to Britain here in Britain."

Following a 25 minute speech, the Prime Minister spoke to members of the local media to address concerns closer to home.

With Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, which covers Guisborough, being identified as a key constituency at the beginning of the campaign Mrs May was keen to visit the area to convince the electorate to bring change to the area.

When asked about the plan of newly elected Tory Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen to bring into public ownership Durham Tees Valley Airport, she said: “Ben put that in his manifesto as he thought that was important for the local area and that’s the point of having the new Mayoral elections, is that they are making decision that they feel are right for the local area.”

Mrs May sought to rally support, saying that making a success of Brexit was a "great national mission".

"Set free from the shackles of EU control, we will be a great, global trading nation once again bringing new jobs and new opportunities for ordinary working families here at home," she said.

"But the brighter future we want for our country will not just happen.

"This great national moment needs a great national effort in which we pull together with a unity of purpose and, however we voted in the referendum last June, we come together with a determination to make a success of the years ahead.

"Because together we can do great things."

The Prime Minister launched a renewed attack on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, warning he was not capable of negotiating a new deal with the EU.

"You can only deliver Brexit if you believe in Brexit.

"You can only fight for Britain if you believe in Britain.

"You can only deliver for Britain if you have the strength, the plan and the determination to see it through," she said.

"And what we know in this election is that the only other person that can be prime minister in seven days' time is simply not up to the job.

"He doesn't believe in Britain.

"He doesn't have a plan.

"He doesn't have what it takes."

Mrs May laid out her post-Brexit vision to make the UK the "world's great meritocracy" - including her plan to expand grammar schools in England.

"For too long, politicians have said that if you're rich or well off, you can have a selective education for your child. You can send them to a selective private school. You can move to a better catchment area or afford to send them long distances to get the education you want," she said.

"Yet for too long, those same politicians have sought to deny that right to others - to ordinary working people up and down this land. That is a scandal and we will bring it to an end."

Elsewhere in the country Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was on the campaign trail in Basildon where he mocked the PM as ‘weak and wobbly’.