Rishi Sunak has said he would try to replicate economic successes in the region around the country if he becomes the next Prime Minister of the UK.
The former chancellor outlined his vison for ‘Sunak’s Britain’ and said the Tees Valley was a microcosm of what was possible nationally.
He has topped the first two rounds of voting by MPs, although still remains short of the 120 votes needed to guarantee him a place in the final run-off ballot of party members.
In an interview with the Northern Echo at the weekend, Mr Sunak said he would remain a North Yorkshire MP if he lost and serve the candidate who eventually succeeds Boris Johnson as Tory party leader.
Mr Sunak said: “Leadership elections ebb and flow and I am delighted and humbled to be in the position I am in now.
“I love being a local MP and if you get out and about and talk to people they will tell you how committed I am to my community.
“They mean everything to me and it is one of the greatest privileges of my life to have been their MP.
“If not successful, I will remain committed to them and loyal to whoever is leader.”
Read more: Rishi Sunak's pledges for the North East if he becomes Prime Minister
He was speaking during a visit to Teesside Freeport on Saturday as Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen publicly backed his campaign.
Mr Sunak also has the support of Tees Valley MPs Jacob Young and Peter Gibson as well as North-West Durham MP Richard Holden.
During his visit Mr Sunak said the North East would continue to lay a central part in Government strategy, and cited having opened the first ever Treasury campus outside of London in Darlington, championed the creation of freeports, and the setting up of the 4.8bn Levelling Up Fund.
He said: “You have seen a glimpse of it, of the future. It is Teesside.
“I used Teesside at the end of one of my budget speeches when I talked about the future economy that I wanted to build in this country and what is happening here.
“I talked about the change that we have brought to Teesside. We have got carbon capture and storage, clean off-shore wind power in homes, vaccines being manufactured.
“I am so proud of the change that has happened here and that I, as chancellor, got work with fantastic local people like Ben Houchen.
“My job as Prime Minister is to bring that same sense of opportunity and excitement across the UK.
“This is one of the best places in the UK to work, live and bring up a family, and I want everyone in the UK to feel like that.”
Mr Sunak is up against Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat with the victor to be announced on September 5.
He currently has the lion’s share of MPs’ votes, but public opinion, following televised debates, suggests the party may decide a clean break from Boris Johnson is needed to give the Conservatives the best chance of defeating Keir Starmer’s Labour Party at the next General Election.
Lingering issues which could work against Mr Sunak include the fact he was fined for breaching Covid regulations, his wife’s tax controversial affairs and his close association with the outgoing PM.
At the weekend, Mr Sunak also said he would scrap hundreds of remaining EU laws and regulations if he wins the race for the Tory crown in a fresh pitch to win over Brexiteers.
He said he would appoint a Brexit minister to go through the remaining 2,400 EU laws still on the statute book to recommend rules to be scrapped or changed within 100 days of taking office.
In a statement setting out his proposals, Mr Sunak stressed that he had always backed Brexit, even though he had been warned it could damage his political career, because it was the “right thing” for the country.
It comes as a number of strongly pro-Brexit MPs are backing other candidates – including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, even though she backed Remain in the 2016 referendum.
Mr Sunak said: “I have a plan, if elected prime minister, to have scrapped or reformed, by the time of the next election, all the EU law, red tape, and bureaucracy still on our statute book that is holding back our economy.
“If we do this, we can get our economy growing quickly again and become the most prosperous country in Europe.”
The review would include an overhaul of the remaining EU financial services regulations with a view to triggering a “Big Bang 2.0” for the City to enable it to maintain its status as a leading world financial centre.
Mr Sunak also indicated that he would overhaul EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules and speed up the clinical trials by cutting EU red tape.
International trade minister Penny Mordaunt remains in second place while Ms Truss is third.
Some MPs believe the former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch in fourth place could be well-placed to pick up votes in the third round on Monday, having impressed many activists with her performances so far in the contest.
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