‘No electoral success without north of England’

RISHI SUNAK said there was “no route to electoral success” for the Conservatives without the north of England, as he travelled from Washington DC to Doncaster to address Tory members.

The Prime Minister emphasised his Government’s commitment to the north of England during a speech at the Northern Research Group conference.

But he also acknowledged the importance the former Labour heartlands, won by Boris Johnson in 2019, would play at the next election.

Mr Sunak, whose seat is in Yorkshire, said his Government was “absolutely committed” to the north.

Declaring himself a “Prime Minister for the north”, he said: “We know that our majority runs through the north and that there is no route to electoral success without you.”

Leading Conservatives, including former party chair Sir Jake Berry, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and former chancellor George Osborne, are among those at the event.

The one-day conference has seen members discuss devolution, healthcare and energy.

It comes amid concerns that Mr Sunak’s party will struggle to retain some of the so-called red wall seats at the next general election.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, among the speakers at the event, said it was about ensuring that ministers do not backtrack on the levelling-up agenda pioneered by Mr Johnson.

He expressed hope that voters would once again back the Conservatives at the election, expected before January 2025.

It was, he told the conference earlier, “human nature that people want to vote for us again”.

Northern Research Group founder Sir Jake Berry thanked Mr Sunak for his speech and told delegates at its conference: “It’s time to blow-up blobonomics”.

He said: “To truly level up the north, we need to be brave-enough in our manifesto to tackle the greatest enemy of change, orthodoxy in Whitehall and inertia, or ‘the blob’ as Michael Gove once called it.”