Red wall Tory MPs call for cabinet minister for north of England

John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle and chair of the Northern Research Group, said the north would ‘act as kingmakers’ at the next election. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Rishi Sunak has been urged to appoint a cabinet minister for the north of England by a group of Conservative MPs representing the region, amid nervousness about the Conservatives’ chances of retaining the “red wall” at the next election.

A manifesto released by a caucus of Tory backbenchers, known as the Northern Research Group, called for more tax responsibilities to be devolved from Westminster and the prioritisation of an east-west rail line, linking Liverpool and Hull.