MP for Scarborough and Whitby: 'No evidence of levelling up agenda being abandoned'

Tory ministers don't want Liz Truss to forget the party's promises during the last general election

Author: Karen LiuPublished 15th Oct 2022

Northern Conservative MPs are calling on the Prime Minister not to abandon the levelling up agenda.

Tory ministers in the Northern Research Group say they don't want Liz Truss to forget the promises the party made to voters during the last general election.

It aims to improve public services and spread opportunity more equally across the UK.

Sir Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said: "There's no evidence that we're abandoning that agenda. The schemes that are in place, both the town bid in Scarborough and the town bid in Whitby, that money has been agreed and signed off, so that will be delivered over the next couple of years.

"Levelling up is about ensuring that we get investment and jobs in parts of the country, which for generations now in some cases, have been left behind. Scarborough and Whitby has been pretty much on the average for unemployment. If anyone in Scarborough or Whitby wants a job, I can point them in a direction because there are people writing to me regularly that need people to work for them.

"The levelling up agenda is making sure that people not only get jobs but they get well paid jobs, they upscale and we've seen investment in Scarborough at the UTC, for schoolchildren at the TEC, and there are tremendous opportunities to get training through apprenticeships. We need lorry drivers, we need all sorts of people.

"It's a great opportunity for people to get better jobs, to retrain, to really upscale themselves and be able to support their families. That's what this Government is about, that's what this local economy needs to be about to make sure we can take advantage of the great opportunities that are continuing to be opened up here on the Yorkshire Coast."

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