The North East’s leading business organisation has told the two candidates to be Conservative leader not to backtrack on the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.
In a letter to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak - one of whom will become Prime Minister in around six weeks’ time - North East England Chamber of Commerce chief executive John McCabe calls on the candidates to “demonstrate Levelling Up in action and show that you genuinely speak on behalf of all places and people across the UK.” The letter comes amid growing disquiet that levelling up has figured only on the fringes of the Tory leadership debate so far, with most of the candidates prioritising tax cuts and debating gender identity.
Mr McCabe’s letter warns that tax cuts mustn’t undermine public services in the North East, saying that reductions in those services often harm businesses and lower productivity. He also calls for better funding for further education, action to reduce growing levels of child poverty in the North East and better transport services for the region.
