📈 Alarming Vital Signs in the North East

Doesn't it seem a long time ago that a victorious Boris Johnson took in the applause from Conservatives in Tony Blair's old seat of Sedgefield after winning a host of North East seats in Labour strongholds like Darlington, Redcar and Bishop Auckland in the 2019 General Election? Five years later, the Tories have been all but wiped out in the North East, reduced to just one seat. How did things go so badly wrong and is there a way back for the party in time for the next election? And was Rishi Sunak the right person to lead the party into the 2024 election? Rob Parsons speaks to Miranda Jupp, who up until a few days ago was chief of staff to Sir Simon Clarke, former Levelling Up Secretary and Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, who lost to Labour's Luke Myer by just 200 votes. And Rob takes a look under the bonnet of the North East of England, a region with so much going for it but with issues like poverty, economic inactivity and bad health continuing to plague it for decades. A new series of reports called Vital Signs single out the role civil society and the generosity of philanthropy can play in bridging the divide between the North East and the rest of the country. Rob Williamson, CEO of the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, tells us more about the work. And you can read them for yourself at https://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/vital-signs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices