Sunakshoulddohislevel best – and make a move

PERHAPS POLITICAL opposites do still attract. It appears that Socialist standardbearer John McDonnell – Labour’s Shadow Chancellor at the time of the last election – was ahead of his time when he proposed moving large parts of the Treasury to the North.

He was mocked by some Labour moderates, and many Tories, but now Richmond MP Rishi Sunak – the current Chancellor, who has a very different outlook to McDonnell – appears to be quite taken by the idea.

He’s said to be backing plans to create a Treasury ‘‘ campus’’ in the North and that Darlington, just a short distance up the A1M from his Richmond constituency – has been identified as a possible site.

It’s also not been dismissed by the Treasury who say a Northern operation remains “a crucial part of this Government’s agenda to level up and the Chancellor is keen to get going”.

But the indication – as Treasury ministers express disquiet at the reluctance of civil servants to advertise key posts outside of London – is that this will not happen until the end of this Parliament in 2024 or so. And this is the great frustration. Why, given the number of office blocks now standing empty, will it take so long to acquire such a site and then convert it to the requisite requirements for a great office of state?

Why can’t a start be made now to show, at the very least, that the Chancellor does not intend Covid, and the economic fallout from the pandemic, to honour commitments made at last December’s election to ‘ blue wall’ voters that delivered his party, and his Government, an 80- seat majority?

Why, when there’s clear evidence to suggest that the Northern Powerhouse agenda has stalled, isn’t this opportunity used to task the Treasury’s northern base with delivering the ‘‘ levelling up’’ programme? It would be a start.

As this newspaper has repeatedly stated, only a dedicated department for the North, with key officials based here, will change the London Government’s mindset and, hopefully, avoid insults like the mishandling of Covid lockdowns.

And this would at least be a start when it is widely accepted that the Northern Powerhouse is even more crucial to the country’s future fortunes as well as the hopes and dreams of the 15 million people who live and work here.

IT is the lack of detail in Ministerial answers over Covid- 19 that is fuelling simmering resentment in Parliament.

Take this week’s debate on the extension of the so- called ‘‘ rule of six’’ – and the stuttering performance of Helen Whately, the Health Minister.

At one point, Tory backbencher Sir

Desmond Swayne asked: “Do the police have powers of entry into a private dwelling to enforce these rules?”

Her response? “I would not want to say anything incorrect at the Dispatch Box, so let me make sure that I get back to my right hon friend with a detailed answer to that question.”

At least she was honest – but her response didn’t inspire confidence as the clash between public health, civil liberties and the economy becomes even more pronounced.

It became even more confusing when Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick was asked about the role and remit of the Government’s new Covid street marshals. “They could go door to door,” he assured Radio Four listeners. But could they enter a private property? ‘‘ No.’’ As clear as mud. Not.

ON the subject of honesty, it’s important not to overlook the rank hypocrisy of Boris Johnson in his virtual leader’s speech to the Tory party conference.

In one passage, the PM waxed lyrical about social care reform. “We will fix the injustice of care home funding, bringing the magic of averages to the rescue of millions,” he announced gleefully.

And then this flourish: “Covid has shone a spotlight on the difficulties of that sector in all parts of the UK – and to build back better we must respond, care for the carers as they care for us.”

Compare and contrast these words with what Johnson said on the day he became Prime Minister: “We will fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve.” Where is that ‘ clear plan’? Was it not ‘‘ oven- ready’’, to paraphrase Brexit, or was it another figment of Johnson’s imagination?

I’M fortunate enough to still remember the great broadcaster Alistair Cooke and his weekly words of wisdom in his Letter from America for the BBC.

Calm, measured and objective, there was none of the hyperbole associated with Jon Sopel, the BBC’s North America Editor, who fails to distinguish between news reportage and opinion.

The latest example was the hospitalisation of President Donald Trump, a figure apparently loathed by Sopel, after being struck down by Covid. First, he questioned the need for this when there was a perfectly good hospital at the White House.

And when Trump left hospital on Monday night, Sopel queried this by reporting that the President was “clearly gasping for breath” when back at the White House.

Just what are Sopel’s medical qualifications?

FINALLY, it was humbling to listen to the Duke of Cambridge on the ITV documentary A Planet For Us All, and then in interview with wildlife crusader Sir David Attenborough on the BBC.

In interviews that will, in time, be viewed as the making of the prince, it was his desire for positive action on the environment, rather than bleating from the sidelines, that was so refreshing and offered the hope that we have at least one leader who gets it...