Shane Meadows - auteur theory

The auteur theory is from the 1950's era that states a director's film reflects the directors personal creative vision, as if he or she were the main author. It means that each director or good director should have a trademark to their work, something recognisable.
I have decided to apply this theory to Shane Meadows which I feel will allow me to develop an understanding of how he works as well as enable me to ensure that our short film reflects my personal creative vision along with the others in my group as I will understand the auteur theory itself better, this I feel will make our film that touches on taboo subject much more powerful and unique to those social realist films that have already been critically acclaimed.
A few points that I have picked up on that could make Shane Meadows an auteur are his use of occasional comedy, even during serious film 'This is England' there are moments of comedic value, such as the scene where Shaun and his friends hide to scare Gadget as he approaches them, and when Shaun and his mother go shoe shopping and she tries to trick him into buying 'uncool' shoes with the shop assistant. These scene I felt was rather light hearted despite the situation of the vandalism they were committing in scaring Gadget, and its different to other films of this genre because films such as 'Fish Tank' are very much intense throughout, therefore I think occasional comedy could be a recognisable factor for Shane Meadows.
Another point is his storytelling. When I first watched 'This is England' it seemed very simple yet effective, however on the second viewing I discovered it was a lot more of a real story than I first thought, as it really felt like the story wasn't about representing a whole group of people but specifically Shaun. As you see the moments with his mother doing average things such as shoe shopping and eating in cafes that make the character so likable despite his flaws. This I feel could be another point because in Meadows work he really represents the characters themselves, and tells in depth stories.
Thinking of these points has helped me to see where I might find some recognisable factors for my own short film, as I want it to have a trademark that will make it much more effective.