Today, I pressed the government on its newly announced ‘Stronger Towns Fund’ which would see £105 million allocated to the whole of the north east until 2026.

This is a pitifully small amount of money given the impact of Tory austerity on our community over the last 9 years – Sunderland City Council alone has had to cut its budget by over £290 million since 2010.

It will also do nothing to offset the damage caused by a decade of Brexit-driven austerity and decline in the north east.