Conservative chairman Eric Pickles has visited the region to give party activists a pep-talk as they make plans for next year’s General Election. The politician took time out to answer questions put by The Northern Echo’s Joe Willis.

Joe Willis: The North-East is a Labour stronghold with industries that have suffered under previous Conservative governments. What inroads do you think you will make at the next General Election?

Eric Pickles: We are looking towards increasing our Members of Parliament and we will make those inroads on the basis of Labour neglect. Labour takes this area for granted. It thinks it can do anything it wants and the North-East will continue to vote for it. We’re looking for those votes and we’re looking to persuade people that the Conservative Party has the interests of the North-East at heart.

JW: How will you convince sceptics in the region who have always voted Labour to vote for you?

EP: That’s easy for me because I come from a Labour family. My great-grandfather helped found the Independent Labour Party. I know what it means to not vote Labour and go for something completely different. I think the real importance is that we are determined not to leave any parts of the country behind. We’re utterly determined that there will be no no-go areas of the country for the Conservative Party.

JW: Do you believe you can win the next General Election?

EP: To get a simple majority we need to take 117 seats. We’ve not achieved that since 1931.

We would need a bigger swing than Margaret Thatcher. No, I’m not certain we’ll win, but what I’ve been doing in the North-East is working with party activists to try to ensure that one, two, three, four or more people that form the next Conservative government come from the North-East.

JW: What will be the impact on the North-East if the Conservatives win the next election?

How would the Tories lessen the impact on the region of any cuts to public spending, given that a high percentage of the region – 37 per cent – works in the public sector?

EP: Whoever wins, there’s going to be considerable cuts. The difference between us and the Labour Party is that we’re being honest about it. When George Osborne announced the freeze on public sector pay, we were very careful to ensure that people on the lower bands, anything below £18,000, were exempt. That in itself will save 100,000 jobs. We’re not in the business of putting people on the scrapheap.

JW: How will you help the region emerge from the recession given that our economy is said to be six months behind the rest of the country and particularly fragile?

EP: I don’t believe that. I’ve lived not very far from here for most of my life in the West Riding.

You walk around the streets and they’re vibrant, there’s lots going on. I’ve been speaking to a host of fairly high-powered businessman this lunchtime and they’re just desperate to get cracking, desperate to get government off their back, desperate to get the quangos off their back. We’re going to work with Labour councils, we’re going to work with Liberal councils and we’re going to work together so that decision are taken here, not remotely in Whitehall.

JW: The Tories have suggested that they would abolish regional development agencies, such as One North East. Is this correct?

EP: We will give the folks in the area the choice.

Our preference is to move towards development agencies around a real economic area working closely with local authorities and business, but if the people of the North-East want to keep One North East, you’re not going to hear any arguments from us.

JW: Can you guarantee that the region would get a high-speed rail connection if you win the election?

EP: No, neither can Labour and neither can the Lib Dems. We are in a colossal financial crisis – £1.4 trillion. Do we see a high-speed rail network as important? Yes. We’ve guaranteed one up to Leeds and we regard moving further up to into the North-East as a second phase of that, but it will be a little while away.

JW: What about air links? The Tories oppose a third runway at Heathrow, yet even now there are not enough slots for flights from regional airports.

EP: For a brief period I was a director of a regional airport and it is a nightmare getting links into London. We [the Tories] decided it was so important that we put together a commission for transport for the North of England because I don’t think anybody has seriously looked at the infrastructure, the way air and rail go together.

JW: Would the Tories address the funding imbalance created by the Barnett Formula?

EP: Sure, but any move which you make with regard to formula is always going to have floors and ceilings, you’re always going to have to look at how much an area is losing, you’re always going to have to phase it in. Sure we will address it, but nothings going to happen that’s going to be very dramatic.

JW: Would the Conservatives press ahead with controversial new regional fire control centres?

EP: It will depend how far they’ve gone down the line. We’re not going to throw good money after bad.

JW: Finally, will the Tories repeal the Hunting Act?

EP: EP: I don’t personally hunt and I’ve never been on a hunt, but the existing situation is just such a mess. It’s neither one thing nor the other. So what we will say is that we will give some government time in order to address the hunting ban and it will be a free vote.