MPs appeal for region to unite and end divide
NORTH East MPs have called for an end to the divide between the “North of Tyne” and the rest of the region.
They said that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown had shown that the region has to work together.
Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland are currently part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, which is chaired by regional mayor Jamie Driscoll.
County Durham, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead are part of a separate North East Combined Authority.
The Government has encouraged the seven authorities to form one combined body, led by a mayor. Speaking at a meeting of the Northern Powerhouse All-Party Parliamentary
Group, a number of
North East MPs expressed similar views.
North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon said: “What’s been proved to me with the issue of the local regional lockdown is how important it is that the seven local authorities in the
North East work together. And I think that’s the biggest drawback of having one elected mayor for only part of our area.”
Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott responded: “From south of the Tyne I would agree with you, because everyone who knows the North East knows the geography is really Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham as a unit.”
Gateshead MP Ian Mearns said: “We are all kind of inextricably linked on the east of the Pennines. If we can get bigger areas to work together in a coherent way then the more power we will have collectively at our elbow rather than being cut into small little strips.”
However Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield in County Durham, said he was concerned that rural areas such as much of Durham might not be a good fit with urban areas such as Newcastle, and he feared funding would go to the cities and major towns.
The Government has said it will publish a “Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper” this year, although it was due in September and appears to have been delayed. This will include measures to encourage areas without regional mayors to create
them.