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By ROB PARSONS - July 11 2022
"We have seen previous attempts to increase investment in the North, such as the Northern Powerhouse, become lost in the political wilderness after a change in leadership and we simply cannot allow for that to happen again."
These were the words of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen today as he wrote to all the Conservative Party leadership candidates urging them to commit to carrying on the 'levelling up' agenda brought to the forefront of the political debate by Boris Johnson.
He said he wants those vying for the role to fully commit to levelling up in 'red wall' and left-behind areas, an agenda which he says was spearheaded by the outgoing Prime Minister, as Sue Kirby writes for TeessideLive.
With 11 MPs now in the running , commentators have noted that few if any are mentioning levelling up or regional inequality. Mr Houchen has outlined a five-point ‘Levelling Up Pledge’ he is urging all candidates to sign to show “unwavering support,” for levelling up and the communities the party pledged to support in the 2019 General Election.
The pledge includes a commitment to keep the Ministry for the Department for Levelling Up with a Cabinet level Secretary of State; reform the Treasury Green Book evaluation process which Mr Houchen says discriminates against towns and rural areas and a commitment to the full construction of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
It also includes working with mayors around the country to seek a deepening of English devolution and also allowing areas with metro mayors to have more fiscal responsibility.
In his letter to candidates, Mr Houchen said: "Here in Teesside, Darlington, and Hartlepool we have seen the very real impact of Levelling Up. In recent months under the leadership of the current Prime Minister we have seen huge investment into areas that have been forgotten by previous Governments of all colours. I would like to think that whatever anybody’s politics, this can be seen as a hugely positive thing."
Mr Houchen claimed that through 'levelling up' the Government has provided nearly £16.5bn in funding to some of the most left-behind and forgotten areas of the country.
He said: "In 2019 voters across the North put their faith in Boris Johnson and the Conservatives because he promised to invest and level up their towns; providing significant funding for places like Redcar, Dewsbury, Blackpool and Bury. Generations of families in these towns had never considered voting for us before the 2019 general election and we cannot ignore these voters.
"Despite the pandemic progress has been made and no candidate can backslide on the 2019 commitment, red wall voters cannot be ignored. There must be unwavering support for this critical policy otherwise red wall and left behind areas will clearly and loudly make their feelings known at the ballot box in 2024."
There was a blow to Mr Houchen's own plans over the weekend as a manufacturing giant dropped vast plans for a turbine plant on Teesside after months of uncertainty.
General Electric had aimed to bring a huge turbine factory to the former Redcar steelworks site to help supply the enormous Dogger Bank wind farm. As many as 750 direct jobs and another 1,500 in the supply chain had been promised.
But GE has scrapped its vision for now - with the firm reported as saying it is “not moving forward with plans for a Teesside facility”. A “lack of volume” has been reported as the reason for the move.
Tugendhat in the ring after backing from senior Northern Tory
He was a surprise arrival at the first annual conference organised by Northern backbench Tory MPs on the day when Boris Johnson decided he'd rather be in Ukraine than give a speech in Doncaster.
And Tom Tugendhat , the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and who has never been a Minister, has clearly won the favour of at least some in the influential Northern Research Group after its chairman Jake Berry backed him to be the next Tory leader.
The Lancashire MP wrote in the Express today : "Northern MPs fight for results. Change cannot be delivered by simply shuffling the pack. We need a new deck."
This morning Leeds-educated Foreign Secretary Liz Truss formally launched her campaign to replace Mr Johnson, as rivals squabbled over promises of “fantasy tax cuts”.
But the race to become the next Tory leader, and therefore Prime Minister, has seen multiple MPs among the 11 current contenders make a series of un-costed promises. But Lancashire MP and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is not among them after announcing this weekend he wouldn't be standing.
Based on this map by UKPolCarto, it looks as though as of 9am this morning Tugendhat and Rishi Sunak were the favoured contenders among Northern Tory MPs who will this week be voting to see which two contenders will be put before party members this summer.
I was at the end of my tether, says MP after middle finger to protestors
The mass resignation of Ministers which preceded Mr Johnson's resignation last week has opened the door for a number of Northern MPs to take on new government roles.
And as well as learning the ropes of their new positions, Morley and Outwood's Andrea Jenkyns and Great Grimsby's Lia Nici also found themselves embroiled in public rows after spats with opponents.
Ms Jenkyns, appointed to the role of parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Education on Friday, admitted she “should have shown more composure” after making a rude gesture to a “baying mob” outside Downing Street .
Ms Jenkyns, who made the sign with her hand as she walked through the black gates, prior to her new appointment, said in a statement: “I had reached the end of my tether”.
And Ms Nici, a new parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, caused outrage this weekend as she accused Labour's Deputy Shadow Leader Angela Rayner of "opening her legs" in the Commons and "laughing about it", reopening a row from earlier this year .
In a debate on BBC1's Politics North programme she said: "Let's just be honest here - we talk about honesty and integrity - the Deputy Shadow Leader decided it would be amusing to open her legs in the chamber and then brag to everybody that actually, it was male members of the opposite party who had been looking at her, and she was drinking on the terrace and laughing about it."
Starmer blasts 'arms race of fantasy economics'
Meanwhile up in the North East, Sir Keir Starmer this morning took aim at an “arms race of fantasy economics” from Tory leadership hopefuls and claimed more than £200 billion of commitments made over the weekend were unfunded.
Delivering a speech at the Sage in Gateshead , the Labour leader - who on Friday found out he would not be fined over the 'beergate' saga in Durham, hit out at “hypocrisy” from those who served in Boris Johnson’s Government. He declared they “trooped through the voting lobbies” to back tax hikes despite being “opposed to them all along”.
It comes after ex Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he would not only scrap ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to raise corporation tax from 19% to 25% in April, but reduce the rate to 15%, in separate leadership bids.
As an aside, your Northern Agenda writer wonders whether it may be a little risky for Sir Keir to criticise Ministers for toeing the party line while in Government given his stint serving in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet.
How controversial cashless toll system saved drivers from delays
Toll barriers were moved from the Tyne Tunnel in November in favour of a new ‘free flow’ scheme designed to cut queuing and pollution, with drivers now having to pay either online, with a pre-paid account, over the phone, or in shops with PayPoint counters.
The new ‘Tyne Pass’ project has proved unpopular with many motorists, with multiple problems with the payment system being reported – including fines being wrongly issued to people living hundreds of miles away.
But it's now claimed that a surge in traffic levels at the crossing, which is busier than it has been for seven years, would be causing severe tailbacks if the old toll barriers were still in place, writes Local Democracy Reporter Dan Holland .
The impact of the scheme was praised in front of councillors after a surge in traffic levels through the tunnel. Despite the ongoing fuel price crisis, 1.54m vehicles went through the tunnel in May – the highest monthly total since 2015 and 9% above expected levels.
Fiona Bootle, Tyne Tunnels manager for Transport North East, told the North East Joint Transport Committee’s Tyne and Wear sub-committee: “With the increase in traffic we are seeing at the moment, we are really glad this [Tyne Pass] is here. With 60,000 vehicles rather than 50,000 going through per day, if this scheme had not been in place we would have significant delays at the Tyne Tunnel.”
In other North East travel news a heavily-delayed Clean Air Zone (CAZ) could finally come into force in Newcastle city centre later this year – but with tolls for high-polluting vehicles put on hold until 2023.
Tyneside council bosses have revealed a new proposal that would see the controversial CAZ begin this November with drivers of non-compliant vehicles issued with warning letters only, before financial penalties are then imposed gradually next year.
The system, designed to bring down illegal levels of roadside air pollution, had first been due to start in January 2021 and was then pushed back to July of this year before being delayed yet again.
Transport chiefs have also scaled back plans to axe free evening parking in Newcastle city centre.
It emerged last year that Newcastle City Council was bidding to axe the Alive After Five offer that has made car parking in city centre multi-storeys free after 5pm since 2010. But it will instead opt for a compromise option – with free parking from 7pm onwards.
'Parks won't feel safe for girls until we change behaviour of men'
It's a fascinating research project that could have a big impact on how many people enjoy their local parks in West Yorkshire and further afield.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Safer Parks research project is a £383,000 scheme to try to make the area’s parks safer for women and girls, with results expected in September. The Government-funded scheme involves academics working with people to see what changes could be made to existing parks to make them safer and more welcoming.
The project was discussed at a committee meeting last week but members were told that even if parks were improved, many girls feel that until the behaviour of others is changed they will not feel safe.
Helen Forman, Urban Design Manager, said girls said when they went to parks they felt they had to “constantly check there are no threats.”
The meeting was told that some girls spoken to believed they would feel safer if parks’ designs were changed. However, Mrs Forman said: “Others felt that no matter how good parks are we still need to fix the people who use them and their behaviour – in the main, groups of men.”
Councillor Helen Hayden added: “Girls will always be on alert unfortunately. It is sad to say that I teach my daughter differently than I teach my son when it comes to being out and about. It is a sad reality.”
Building Merseyside’s theatre of dreams in the big Tesco ‘ghost town’
It’s said that 16th century Prescot was home to the only purpose built indoor theatre outside of London. Many claim William Shakespeare was among the performers who graced the stage in the Merseyside town.
It’s a legend that loosely formed the inspiration for the Shakespeare North Playhouse - a development that somewhat remarkably puts the borough Knowsley on the same cultural platform as London and Stratford Upon Avon.
While Prescot used to be known for its former cable making industries but is described by some as a 'ghost town' after a big Tesco and retail park were blamed for killing off the town’s once bustling and traditional high street.
Writing for the Liverpool Echo this weekend Elliot Ryder speaks to Ashleigh Nugent, now an author, playwright, poet and actor, who has curated the opening weekend programme at the theatre when it opens to the public for the first time on Friday.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, Ashleigh didn’t talk about his aspirations to be a writer after finding his feet in his 20s, his relationship with the town has surprisingly come full circle. Living in Rainhill and spending much of his time in Prescot, he recalls how the local area was “lacking” in culture. “I always wrote,” he explains, “but didn't tell anyone about it.”
Elliott writes: "While the Playhouse is over a decade in the making, the first bricks were only laid down in early 2020. And each one will have been weighted with the expectation of turning the town’s fortunes around."
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