One of the Tory Ministers in charge of Boris Johnson's 'levelling up' plans has described his childhood memories of sitting by the smashed glass and broken windows of Liverpool's famous Sefton Park Palm House as he set out his vision for getting Northern cities 'going at full tilt'.
Levelling Up Minister Neil O'Brien told The Northern Agenda Live conference that strong local leadership was key to transforming the fortunes of cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
The Conservative MP, who was heavily involved in the long-awaited White Paper setting out the details of the Prime Minister's vision to end the North-South divide, said the UK was one of the most "geographically unbalanced" developed nations but also "one of the most centralised".
