The Prime Minister failed to address why the south of England is set to receive nearly double the amount of investment per head as the North East, whilst visiting the area.

Rishi Sunak today (Friday, June 28) visited Stockton’s Holy Trinity Rosehill CofE Primary School, speaking to children and teachers, and getting involved in lessons.

But in an interview with The Northern Echo, Mr Sunak dodged the detail on levelling up funding discrepancies, after a document from the Department of Levelling Up showed the average planned investment per head next year for the North East was just £1,245, compared to £2,100 in London and the South. 

Mr Sunak maintained that the North East would see higher taxes and fewer jobs if the Labour Party were to win next week’s General Election, and said that his MPs have “worked incredibly hard for their constituencies and delivered for them”.

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Ten years on from Nick Clegg’s Northern Powerhouse, the Department of Levelling Up has compiled a variety of sectors, planned investment in education, health, housing and regeneration, justice, science and research and transport.

Sadly, the North East was the biggest loser - with figures for the whole of the North and Midlands being listed at just over £1,400. 

But Mr Sunak failed to address this statistic, instead outlining examples of progress made in the area – including the Treasury’s economic campus in Darlington, and the Brexit freeport in Tees Valley.

When asked how the people of the North East could trust the Conservatives again, he said: “Well actually just take Teesside – after decades of Labour neglect, you’ve seen a Conservative team – the mayor Ben Houchen – working with me whilst I was Chancellor and now Prime Minister – you’ve got fantastic MPs like Matt Vickers, Jacob Young, Peter Gibson, Jill Mortimer, working incredibly hard for their constituencies and delivering for them.

“I mean look at Hartlepool, Redcar, Eaglescliffe, Yarm, Thornaby, Darlington, all of those places getting tens and tens of millions of pounds of investment into their town centres and their high street, we’ve got a brand new Brexit freeport in the Tees Valley, which is attracting billions of pounds of investment and creating thousands of high-quality jobs, we’re upgrading Darlington Station and were also making sure we’ve got great government jobs here.”

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The Conservative Party manifesto promised “levelling up every part of the UK” after the last election returned nearly 150 Conservative MPs in red wall areas of the North and Midlands. 

However, analysis in March found that less than a fifth of the projects approved by Michael Gove to improve towns across England have been completed. 

The Public Accounts Committee also concluded in March that there were no compelling examples of delivery so far with delays holding back spending. 

When asked about the possibility of a Conservative wipeout in the Red Wall, Mr Sunak said: “The poll that matters is the one on July 4 and we’ll fight very hard for every vote until that day.”

Mr Sunak insisted that he is “committed to the North East.”

He said: “Look, I moved the Treasury to Darlington as a sign of how committed I am to this region and the North East - that’s hugely positive. When I put the treasury campus in Darlington, the Labour leader described it as giving up.

(Image: PA)

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“Everywhere you go, there’s a sense of confidence and optimism that things under the Conservatives have absolutely turned around. We’ve got fantastic MPs working hard for their MPs, we’ve got a fantastic mayor, and a government that is unequivocally backing the Tees Valley and the North East, giving people that sense of confidence about the future, and I say to everyone don’t put that at risk in this election.

“When I am at the freeport, talking to people working on building the next generation of wind turbines, they are incredibly excited about their future.

“That’s happened because what the Conservatives have done, that progress will be put at risk if Labour are in charge, they’re going to whack up everyone's taxes across the North East, I don’t want to see that happen, people here work really hard so they can provide a better life for their families, and with the Conservatives we’re going to support that, continue cutting everyone’s taxes, and continue investing in this area as we have done.”