KATE OSBORNE MP: People in the North are treated as second-class citizens by this incompetent, wasteful and chaotic Government

Despite their rhetoric on levelling up, what we have seen time and again is ideologically driven attacks on the North East region – instead of levelling up the deep-rooted North-South divide is getting even bigger.

For people in the North East our life expectancy has dropped, and more of us are in poor health with regional health as well as wealth inequality gaps widening.

Disgracefully the North East has the lowest life expectancy for both men and women.

No one should live a shorter, sicker or poorer life because of where they are born.

The Tories have had multiple opportunities to address growing health disparities in our Northern communities but instead, they have made it worse.

Instead of investing in our region the Tories just keep making cuts, cutting funding in real terms for our NHS which has led to our Jarrow constituency having more people than average who are in poor health.

People in the North are treated as second-class citizens by this incompetent, wasteful and chaotic Government and enough is enough.

Businesses are ignored, transport plans scrapped and 39 per cent of kids in the Jarrow constituency live in poverty. That’s nearly 6,000 kids hungry when they go to school.

We have pensioners unable to heat their homes with many unable to turn their heating on without making sacrifices in areas such as food or other basic necessities.

We have more and more people dying in the winter due to fuel poverty. A huge 30% increase in winter deaths.

And we have working people turning to food banks as earnings haven’t kept up with rocketing food and energy costs.

These statistics make for grim reading. Too many people in Jarrow struggle to meet day-to-day costs, with nearly one in three people unable to keep their homes warm without bringing their income below the poverty threshold.

Behind all these stats are real people and we must remember the devastating impact poverty has on people's physical and mental health.

It’s clear this callous government does not care, Rishi Sunak does not care and neither do any of his wealthy friends in the Cabinet.

With a bigger bank balance than the King, Sunak cares more about propping up his wealthy mates than the people he represents.

The people of this country deserve better than what this Government is serving up to them.

Every day I receive calls and emails from constituents who have been impacted by this Government’s vile policies – people struggling financially, people waiting months for vital hospital appointments, people struggling with benefit issues, people unable to access a dentist, people unable to cope with the huge increases in rent and mortgage costs and facing eviction - our people cannot cope with any more.

The North deserves better and needs better - an incoming Labour Government will have a long way to go to repair the damage the Conservatives have inflicted on our communities - the sooner we get to a General Election and hopefully a change of Government the better.

Last week, we saw for the very first time, an election of a North East Mayor, Labour’s Kim McGuinness. Kim has already started plans to honour her election commitments starting with tackling our transport and bringing buses under public control.

Kim is a great asset in the fight for our Northern communities, yet the money the Government has allocated for the North East region is a drop in the ocean to what has been cut over the last decade and more.

Jarrow and the North East should not be left behind and remain another statistic. I was elected to represent the wonderful people of the Jarrow constituency and I will stand up at every opportunity to raise these inequalities we face again and again and again.

The Tories are losing support by the second. They have failed the people of this country and it’s time for change – it’s time for a General Election and a Labour Government.

Through their devastating cuts and relentless attacks on the North, it is clear that the Tories’ time is up and are not the answer to deliver the changes we need for the good of this country.

I could write a book on this Government’s failings over the past 14 years which has left so many people at breaking point – and the only answer is to call a General Election so Labour can set about trying to repair the damage inflicted by years of Conservative rule.

When you have the opportunity to do so and when a general election is called, vote for change and vote for a Labour Government.