Northern MPs call on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to restart 'level up' project

The Northern Research Group (NRG) last night said that more than 50 MPs signed a letter urging Government to put the region central to the country’s economic recovery.

The new group of northern Conservative backbenchers from England, North Wales and the Scottish Border, is led by the former Northern Powerhouse Minister, Jake Berry MP.

He tonight said: “The North has seen a level of disruption unparalleled with other parts of the country. The virus has exposed in sharp relief the deep structural and systemic disadvantage faced by our communities and it threatens to continue to increase the disparity between the North and South still further.

“Our constituents have been some of the hardest hit by this virus with many losing jobs, businesses, and livelihoods. Never has there been a more pertinent and urgent political and economic case to support people living in the North. However, instead of moving forwards on our shared ambitions, the cost of Covid and the virus itself threatens to send the North into reverse.

"We have written to the Prime Minister with some suggestions. But our priorities are clear: we need a clear roadmap down the tiering system and out of restrictions; lets accelerate shovel-ready infrastructure projects already in the pipeline to boost growth and productivity; and, we need a Northern Economic Recovery Plan.

"We ask he work with us to deliver on our shared commitment, to levelling-up northern communities and build back better.”

Suggestions made by the group include setting out a “clear roadmap out of lockdown”; prioritising the acceleration of key road, rail and social infrastructure projects and job creation; and developing a “tailored economic recovery plan” for the North.

The NRG says it has formed to work to deliver on the 2019 General Election Manifesto commitment to level up the North.

The Government was approached for comment.