The Crewe & Nantwich MP says Boris Johnson has pledged to support a northern recovery plan, during a meeting in which he is reported as saying “devolution was a disaster” in Scotland.
The Prime Minister met with Dr Kieran Mullan and other Tory MPs from northern constituencies on a Zoom call yesterday to discuss a “levelling up” agenda.
Dr Mullan said during the hour long call while Mr Johnson self-isolates, he pledged his support for investing in left behind towns, buses and infrastructure.
But there was criticism today after newspaper reports also say he described how devolution had been “a disaster north of the border”.
Others defended his comments, saying he was referring to how it had fuelled “a rise in separatism and nationalism”.
The PM told MPs in the Northern Research Group yesterday: “We’re already undertaking a fantastic infrastructure revolution, including the A66, Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 to say nothing of the £3 billion we’re spending on buses.
“Local leadership can make a huge difference to the look and feel of town centres, and if you change the quality of life in a town, you will get people who stay to live there rather than getting on the train to big cities, and you will create more opportunities for investment in our towns.
“Remember that we are the party of aspiration and opportunity, and we must continue with our strong belief in our country, its institutions and its history, and the opportunities for our future post-Brexit.”
A statement from the NRG said: “We welcome his support for a northern economic recovery plan to ‘help the North deliver long-term economic change and growth’.
“We also welcome his renewed commitment the promises made to our constituents in the 2019 General Election will be delivered.
“The NRG is committed to working constructively with the Prime Minister to level up our communities and to build back better out of this Covid crisis.”
Dr Mullan added: “The first vote of confidence in Crewe and the region came with the commitment to HS2.
“And now we are deciding how to spend £25 million in Crewe as part of the town deal I campaigned hard for us to get.
“We are already delivering on more nurses, more doctors, more police officers, more funding for schools.
“These are things people want to see but they also want to see long term investment in our region which is what we are focusing on as a group of MPs.
“Our success last year is not the high water mark for Conservatives in the North, it is only the start.”
(pic under creative commons Photo_ Annika Haas (EU2017EE)
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