‘NO LIP SERVICE TO NORTH’:
THE GOVERNMENT has been warned not to simply pay lip service to the North of England as a special Cabinet meeting is due to be held in Sunderland today to mark the UK’s divorce from the European Union.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson owes much of his General Election victory last month to the North, as voters lent him their support and allowed him to decimate the so-called ‘Red Wall’ of traditional Labour strongholds.
However, he has been warned that purely surface-level gestures will not suffice, and the electorate wants to see “money in their pockets”.
Thirsk and Malton Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake said although holding the Cabinet meeting in the North was clearly a symbolic gesture, he believed it would lead to more concrete changes.
He added: “It was a fantastic result across the country (at the election), and across the North, so it’s not just about us saying to people ‘thanks, we’ve delivered for you’, it’s about winning the next election so we have to make sure the North feels more valued. That’s got to be about putting money in people’s pockets.”
He claimed that this would come through better job and training opportunities, and improving transport links and infrastructure.
Mr Holinrake added: “There’s no doubt about it, Boris is making a lot of the North and he’s also surrounded by people from the North and for the North, I’m sure they will be making the point very strongly that it’s got to be concrete.”
Leeds Central Labour MP Hilary Benn said one of the big tests for Mr Johnson’s Government would be whether he delivered on HS2, with a decision expected in the coming days.
He said: “If I was a newly-elected Conservative MP I’d be supporting it. It’s a real test for the Government.”
Mr Johnson has the North to thank not only for his election victory, but also for the EU Referendum result in 2016, with Yorkshire and the Humber voting resoundingly to leave. The majority of areas backed leaving the EU, with only Leeds, Harrogate and York backing remain.
Prominent Brexiteer and Morley and Outwood MP Andrea Jenkyns has organised a Big Brexit Bash this evening to mark the event.
She said: “After three years of people trying to tamper with democracy, we finally delivered Brexit and respected the will of the people. Now we have one year to complete a good deal with the EU that protects our jobs and business, our fishing waters and our independence.
“We will have a friendly relationship with our European neighbours, but we will be finally free to trade with the rest of the world.”
In London, Brexiteers will gather for a party in Parliament Square led by Nigel Farage, while Union flags are already flying around Westminster.
Very little will change at the moment of Brexit as a result of the deal which Mr Johnson agreed with Brussels and the 27 remaining member states. However, the UK faces further uncertainty as both sides seek to strike a trade deal by the end of the year.
In official events, Downing Street will be illuminated with a light show and a new 50p coin will enter circulation.
In Brussels, the UK flag will be removed from the EU institutions, with one Union flag expected to be consigned to a museum.
In Scotland, which voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum, candlelit vigils are planned.