Tees Valley mayor calls for support for levelling up

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has written to all the Conservative leadership hopefuls urging them to sign up to his Levelling Up pledge.

He has drawn up a five-point Levelling Up Pledge and is urging all the candidates to sign up to it and show support for levelling up and the communities the party pledged to support in the 2019 general election.

In the letter, the mayor 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."

Some of the five points included in the pledge are a commitment to keep the Ministry for the Department for Levelling Up with a Cabinet level Secretary of State; reformation of the Treasury Green Book evaluation process, and a commitment by the candidates to the full construction of Northern Powerhouse Rail. Houchen has criticised the Treasury Green Book evaluation process and said it discriminates against towns and rural areas.

Mr Houchen said in his letter that through 'levelling up', the Government has provided around £16.5bn worth of funding to some of the most left-behind 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. They put their trust in us for the first time to deliver for their communities, communities that until that point had been ignored by governments of all stripes.

"Despite the pandemic progress has been made and no candidate can backslide on the 2019 commitment, red wall voters cannot be ignored. That’s why I’m calling on every MP that throws their hat into the ring to sign up to my five-point Levelling Up Pledge. The uncertainty of a leadership election cannot lead to uncertainty about the future of levelling up. 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."

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