Listen to the voice of the Red Wall, Boris

AGAINST all odds, a Tory ex-London mayor with next to no direct experience of the North pulled off a near miracle at the last election.

For the first time in a generation Northern voters were persuaded that Conservative not Labour was the best party to take their neglected region forward.

It was a thrilling achievement, and Boris Johnson did it by listening and taking on board legitimate grievances. From Blyth Valley to Bassetlaw they responded to his ‘unite and level up’ promise by electing a raft of new Tory MPs.

Less than a year on, those MPs are in revolt. Weeks of oppressive lockdown restrictions imposed in piecemeal, inconsistent fashion and with no end in sight have made them angry and captious.

A group of 55 Tories, calling themselves the Northern Research Group, are demanding ‘a clear roadmap’ out of Tier Three rules, a recovery plan for the region and a revitalisation of manifesto promises on regional infrastructure.

In addition, senior backbencher Sir Graham Brady calls on ministers to publish data on the ‘real’ cost of lockdown – deaths caused by reduced access to NHS care, mental illness, domestic violence, shuttered businesses and lost jobs.

What these MPs want most of all is for their Prime Minister to communicate and cooperate with them, rather than battening down in his No10 bunker with a cabal of unelected advisers.

He may think they are being somewhat ungrateful. After all, they owe their seats to his campaigning gifts at least as much as their own abilities. And they should not forget they operate under a Tory whip, rather than as independent activists.

But he should also thank them. Just imagine if all their seats were still held by Labour. The North-South divide would by now have become unbridgeable.

Mr Johnson must recognise that these MPs know their people and their memory of 1980s abandonment by central government is still raw in the region.

He should reach out to them, listen and learn from them as he did before the election. Would it be too much to ask for him to visit some of their constituencies to show he cares? This is not so much a rebellion as a cri de coeur.

Across the country lockdown is having a devastating effect, especially on the young. As business atrophies ( more big corporations saw their profits slashed yesterday), youth unemployment is heading for its highest level in 40 years.

Covid restrictions are also severely corroding the life chances of children even below school- age. And that’s before countless more parents are thrown out of work after furlough ends.

No one is suggesting there should be no measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. But they must be proportionate, effective and not irrevocably destroy the economy.

Above all there has to be an exit strategy, a clearly explained route out of this seemingly endless lockdown cycle.

Mr Johnson must give people hope that their sacrifices will lead to a brighter future. A constant diet of misery just won’t work.