There is one overriding question at this election: who can provide the strong leadership to get Brexit right and use it to improve the lives of people across the UK? There could not be more at stake, because getting these negotiations right is an opportunity to change Britain for the better, not just for the next five years but for the years beyond.
I have an ambitious vision for Britain after Brexit, forging a new global role for the UK beyond the continent of Europe.
That is why my first trade mission as Prime Minister, last November, was to India which resulted in £1.2 billion worth of business between the UK and Indian companies. I am determined that in the years ahead we should forge an even closer bond between the people of our two great nations.
With approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK, the Indian diaspora plays a vital role in our national life.
Asian entrepreneurs, business people and public servants make an immense contribution to our society, leading by example, working hard and getting on in life. British Indians, for example, have an employment rate of 73.4%, the highest of any ethnic minority community.
However, research suggests there is a 17 per cent pay gap for A-level educated Black, Asian and ethnic minority people and 10 per cent at degree level. This injustice of people from different ethnic groups being paid differently based purely on the colour of their skin must end.
So we will make large employers reveal the differences in how they pay people from different ethnic groups, as we ensured they do for women. It is important that at this great moment of national change, we take a step back and ask ourselves what kind of country we want to be.
After last week’s callous terrorist attack in Manchester, I have been proud of the way the country has come together and shown, beyond any doubt, that these things will never divide us.
I have always been clear that I want a country that works for everyone.
And I firmly believe that we can – and must – take this opportunity to build a Great Meritocracy, a country where we see people able to get on through their own talents no matter what their background, no matter where they’re from.
To this end, my first act as Prime Minister was to establish an audit of racial disparities which will shine a light on how our public services treat people from different backgrounds. It means the public will be able to check how their race affects how they are treated on key issues such as health, education, employment and childcare.
It will make for uncomfortable reading when the results are published in July. But a Government led by me will not shy away from those difficult truths and we will act on its findings.
Our manifesto sets out a plan to provide a stable growing economy, and a stronger, fairer, more prosperous Britain.
Unlike Labour and the Liberal Democrats, we will protect and enhance faith schools, and allow grammar schools to expand in areas where parents want them to.
Our record is clear – my team has enabled local communities to set up Hindu and Sikh Free Schools, such as the excellent Nishkam Sikh School I visited in Birmingham recently (see photo).
These schools give parents more say in their children’s education.
We will lead the world when it comes to online regulation, so that our young people have their welfare and security protected when they go on the internet.
And we will launch a national campaign to increase the number of ethnic minority organ donors to cut the long waiting times for patients from those groups and save more lives.
Our industrial strategy will provide the highly-paid, highly skilled jobs of the future - a future in which Britain and India should work together to realise our full potential.
With so much in common when it comes to trade, values, culture and, of course, people, ours is a natural partnership.
No G20 country has invested more in India since the turn of the century than Britain, while India is Britain’s second-biggest jobs creator.
But we can go further. We can grasp the opportunities that Brexit brings to create more jobs, more investment, more trade and more collaboration.
That is why it is essential we get the negotiations right.
That will require leadership from a prime minister who is strong enough to stand up for Britain, and a government that is stable enough to steer the country safely through the critical years ahead.
This election is a moment of huge national opportunity. Let us use it to create a country that truly works for everyone.
