James Cleverly meets with Ben Houchen at Teesworks

This weekend, I was out and about across the North of England. It was great to meet people across the region, with stops in Redcar, Whitby, Bridlington, Yarm and Leeds on Saturday. I then went on to the Tees Valley with Ben Houchen on Sunday.

Ben is an absolute champion for the Tees Valley. He has shown how Conservative principles translate into real delivery, with this region providing a blueprint for driving growth across the UK.

I completely endorse what Ben has said about this leadership contest. Infighting and division cost us dearly on 4 July. We need to unite around our shared Conservative values, present an optimistic vision for the future based on Conservative principles and win back those voters that we lost to other parties or who stayed at home. There is no better example of what a positive Conservative vision can deliver than the Tees Valley.

Since Ben became Tees Valley Mayor in 2017, his focus has been on economic regeneration. The most striking achievement has to be Teesside Freeport, the UK’s largest freeport, which has cut taxes, reduced red tape and streamlined planning processes. Covering Middlesbrough, Redcar and Hartlepool, it is creating thousands of local jobs and attracting billions in private sector investment.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen takes James Cleverly on a tour of Teesworks (Image: BRANDON HATTILONEY)

Then there are Ben’s successes in keeping Teesside International Airport open, attracting clean energy companies, and plans underway to redevelop Middlesbrough and Darlington stations.

Meanwhile, the South Tees Development Corporation at Teesworks is bringing in major private investment from around the world to develop the 4,500 acre site. I visited recently with Ben, and the scale of the investment and opportunity that it represents is incredible; the biggest development opportunity in the UK. Work is well underway to deliver 20,000 jobs and an annual £1 billion to the local economy.

The North East is open for business and that is very much thanks to Ben’s work. He has delivered this through a Conservative, free market vision and proved twice, including when he was re-elected in May against a difficult national backdrop, that this kind of vision delivers results and wins public backing.

James Cleverly visits Whitby to meet with local party members (Image: BRANDON HATTILONEY)

If the Conservatives are to become an election-winning party again nationally, we need to be articulating this vision everywhere. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by ideological battles and division when it is pragmatic delivery that wins votes.

Ultimately, Teesside offers a truly Conservative model for growth. While Labour would rather run the country by central diktat, our approach relies on unleashing business and the private sector to drive growth under excellent local leaders backed by their communities. By cutting taxes and regulation on business, we can encourage private investment where the state cannot afford to spend, generating thousands of jobs. Ben has proved that this works.

If I am elected leader of the Conservative Party in November, I will be championing this message and working with Ben and others to turn it into a manifesto for growth for the whole country come the next election - one that I believe can bring us back into government and enable us to deliver real growth across this country.

The public deserve so much better than what the Labour government is offering. Just this week we have seen Keir Starmer cave to his union paymasters and offer up millions of pounds worth of pay rises to strikers - including some who now intend to go back out on strike. I want to provide the effective opposition that people rightly expect, and relegate Labour to the opposition benches as soon as possible.