Northerners earn £8,404 less despite years of Tory promises to 'level-up'

Northern campaigners have slammed the Tory leadership hopefuls for failing to back the party’s “levelling-up” agenda.

No10 candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss travel to the heart of the “Red Wall” for tomorrow night’s hustings in Darlington, Co Durham.

But the Northern Powerhouse Partnership think-tank accuses the pair of betraying voters who placed their faith in the Conservatives in the 2019 election.