RT. HON JAKE BERRY MP
Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Prime Minister
Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP
10 Downing Street
London
SWIA (AA
26 October 2020
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to you as Northern MPs regarding the Government's approach to supporting
‘communities in the North, North Wales and Scottish Borders where the Covid 19 vieus is most
prevalent, and the levelling-up agenda as outlined in your economic speech in Dudley on 30 June
2020.
As you said then, and as is trae today, we must use this critical moment to address the problems we
have collectively failed to tackle for decades.
‘The North has seen a level of disruption unparalleled with other parts of the country. The virus has
‘exposed in sharp relief the deep structural and systemic disadvantage faced by our communities and it
‘threatens to continue to increase the disparity between the North and South still further. Northern
paris of our country Were among the first t0 be significantly adversely affected by the Covid outbreak,
and now many communities have been put back under severe restrictions.
‘The package of support measures that have been announced by the Chancellor is significant. We
welcome the measures already in place such as the furloughing scheme, the Coronavirus Business
Interruption Lean (CBILs}, and the deferral of VAT payments, and we weleome the substantial
package of financial support provided to local authorities that have entered into the highest level of
lockdown restrictions in recent days.
‘We do however stare concems that the cost of Covid could be paid for by the downgrading of the
levelling-up agenda, and northern constituencies like ours will be left behind. We believe this would
‘threaten to undermine the Governments hard-won mandate in December, ata time when the political
and economic case for the levelling-up agenda we have been elected to deliver, has never been more
‘essential
‘That is why we are today calling for your support to create a pathway down the tiering system and to
‘reate a Northern Economic Recovery Plan to help our constituents build back better out of this Covid
crisis,
- First, we believe the Government can foster wider support by setting out a clear roadmap down the
tiering system and out of lockdown. Disproportionately, restrictions are affecting people across the
‘North far greater than they are in the South. We believe that providing greater clarity about how local
areas move down the tiering system and reopen economies would be of benefit to both people and
‘businesses in our region. People want to see that measures will come to an end, and to feel reassured
‘that the opportunities hamessed at the beginning of the year will be provided to them once again by
this Government,- Second, much of our infrastructure in the North is insufficient and is a barrier to our region’s
economic potential and future growth. We believe a significant reprofiling of government
infrastructure commitments, as set out in our manifesto, would be beneficial. In particular, we believe
the Government should prioritise and accelerate key projects, including Trans-Pennine HS2-ready
Northern Powerhouse Rail, Strategic Development Corridors (as put forward by Transport for the
North), and ultrafast broadband,
- Third, we note the Chancellor has decided to conduct a one-year Spending Review in orderto
prioritise the Government's response to Covid-19, and our focus on supporting jobs. We belicve now
is the right time to reaffirm our commitment to people living in the North with a Norther Economic
Recovery Plan, working on a regional basis to create employment opportunities and growth.
Our constituents have been some of the worst affected by Covid, with many losing jobs and
businesses. We urge you to reflect carefully on our promise to people living in the North during the
last election with the levelling-up agenda and make our region central to the country's economic
recovery
CC Take,
NL
Rt Hon. Jake Berry MP
Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen
(On behalf of the Northem Research Group (NRG)
‘Aaron Bell MP Karl McCartney MP
Alexander Stafford MP Kieran Mullen MP
‘Andrew Perey MP Lee Anderson MP
Antony Higginbotham MP Mark Eastwood MP
Ben Bradley MP Mark Jenkinson MP
Chris Green MP Mark Logan MP
Christian Wakeford MP Mark Menzies MP
Craig Whittaker MP Mary Robinson MP
David Davis MP Nick Fletcher MP
David Jones MP Paul Howell MP
David Morris MP Pau! Maynard MP
David Mundell MP Peter Gibson MP
Esther McVey MP
Imran Ahmad Khan MP
Philip Davies MP
Robbie Moore MP
James Daly MP Robert Goodwill MP
James Davies MP Robert Largan MP
James Grundy MP ‘Sara Briteliffe MP
Jason McCartney MP ‘Simon Clarke MP
John Stevenson MP
Julian Sturdy MP
‘Simon Fell MP
William Wragg MP