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    • Friday, 26 November, 2021
      Brookfield Asset Management Inc
      Brookfield abandons sale of UK ports group wanted by Boris Johnson ally

      The decision by Canadian investment group is a blow to Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen 

    • Tuesday, 19 October, 2021
      News in-depth
      Johnson ally’s regeneration plan sets up battle with Brookfield

      Houchen’s move to secure control of ports company is far from assured of success

    • Wednesday, 12 May, 2021
      Robert Shrimsley
      Labour’s problem is that Keir Starmer is no Tony Blair

      The party leader’s timidity leaves voters sensing weakness

    • Sunday, 9 May, 2021
      UK politics & policy
      Johnson to set out ‘levelling up’ agenda in Queen’s Speech

      Prime minister under pressure to deliver results to new Conservative supporters in northern towns

    • Friday, 7 May, 2021
      News in-depthUK politics & policy
      Starmer warned of prospect of leadership challenge over summer

      Leftwing Labour MPs hit out after party loses two key electoral battles in north-east England

    • Friday, 7 May, 2021
      UK local elections
      Conservatives tighten grip on English councils

      Win for Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen points up shift from Labour to Tories in former industrial areas

    • Friday, 7 May, 2021
      Instant InsightRobert Shrimsley
      Eight key takeaways of the UK election results

      From the personal appeal of Boris Johnson to the struggles of Keir Starmer, what we know so far

    • Wednesday, 5 May, 2021
      News in-depthEnglish devolution
      How soaring popularity of England’s metro mayors has hit devolution

      Boris Johnson stalls decentralisation after local leaders like Andy Burnham threaten to loosen Westminster’s grip

    • Tuesday, 4 May, 2021
      Labour Party UK
      Pressure grows on Starmer as polls show Labour trailing in key local elections

      Opposition party struggling in bellwether seats across England ahead of Thursday’s vote

    • Monday, 3 May, 2021
      News in-depthUK politics & policy
      Tories’ red wall shows no signs of crumbling on Teesside

      Mayor Ben Houchen wants to prove his 2017 victory in Labour’s heartlands was no fluke

    • Thursday, 29 April, 2021
      FT Magazine
      Labour’s lost heartlands. Can it win them back?

      Keir Starmer’s struggle to rebuild the ‘red wall’ that was shattered by Brexit is defining the fight for the party’s future

    • Thursday, 8 April, 2021
      UK local elections
      Starmer struggles to counter Johnson’s ‘vaccine bounce’ as polls loom

      Labour leader faces uphill battle to dent prime minister’s popularity in Britain’s May local elections

    • Tuesday, 16 March, 2021
      UK politics & policy
      Starmer faces crucial test after Hartlepool’s Labour MP resigns

      UK opposition party held pro-Brexit seat in 2019 general election with reduced majority

    • Wednesday, 3 March, 2021
      UK regional policy
      Sunak chooses Darlington as Treasury’s northern hub

      Chancellor’s move is part of levelling-up agenda for the north of England

    • Thursday, 25 February, 2021
      UK regional policy
      Darlington emerges as most likely location for Treasury’s northern base

      Chancellor Rishi Sunak expected to rebuff last-ditch pleas from senior civil servants to pick a city

    • Wednesday, 13 January, 2021
      UK politics & policy
      ‘Treasury North’ leads march of civil servants out of London

      Shake-up of Whitehall machine as campus expected to be established before next election

    • Thursday, 19 November, 2020
      Renewable energy
      GE in talks to build wind turbines in UK’s north-east

      Some 3,000 jobs set to be created to supply giant offshore wind farm

    • Thursday, 19 November, 2020
      Trade Secrets
      Freeports are economically trivial and politically expensive Premium content

      UK plan will pit town against town, with cash thrown around inefficiently for prestige reasons

    • Wednesday, 28 October, 2020
      News in-depthEnglish devolution
      England’s metro mayors find new platform during Covid crisis

      Manchester’s Andy Burnham and Tees Valley’s Ben Houchen have highlighted case for devolving powers

    • Sunday, 11 October, 2020
      UK politics & policy
      Boris Johnson faces rebellion over Covid job support for workers

      Tory MPs in northern England want higher wage subsidies for employees at companies forced to close

    • Sunday, 12 July, 2020
      UK trade
      Business and politicians wary of UK plan for low-tax trade zones

      Government edges closer to creating freeports, but critics question their benefit

    • Friday, 13 March, 2020
      Coronavirus pandemic
      English local and mayoral polls postponed amid coronavirus crisis

      Downing Street feared May’s elections would have coincided with peak of outbreak in country

    • Wednesday, 11 March, 2020
      UK Budget
      UK to move 22,000 civil servants out of London

      Relocation will cover Treasury, business, local government and trade roles

    • Thursday, 5 March, 2020
      UK politics & policy
      North leaders demand rewrite of ‘Green Book’ spending rules

      Current approach favours infrastructure investment in London and the south-east

    • Thursday, 20 February, 2020
      UK regional policy
      Wrangle over UK’s largest regeneration site ends in £1 land deal

      Thai banks to sell 840-acre site to  South Tees Development Corporation

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