So far I have been watching the Conservative Leadership Election between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak with horror and genuine fear for what the future holds for Wansbeck and the rest of the UK.

It has become clear that in a bid to appeal to the party membership, predominantly based in London and the South East, that both candidates have been in competition over who would syphon off as much funding and support from the North East as possible.

Liz Truss made headline news when she promised to cut the pay of key workers in the North while protecting wages in London and the South East, and Rishi Sunak’s mask slipped when he was caught bragging about funnelling funds away from poor urban areas into prosperous suburbs in the South while Chancellor.

Whoever becomes the next Prime Minister has made it very clear they will torpedo whatever semblance remained of the current levelling up policy that already practically doesn’t exist except in name. The status quo of the 80’s will be continued with our economic fortunes dependent on London and its surrounding areas while the North East and the people living here are held back for another generation.

What makes this all the more worrying is that the cost of living crisis becomes more desperate by the day. People are already unable to pay bills as the cost of living continues to rapidly increase and wages fail to keep up. Yet there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel as forecasts predict energy bills will rise to as high as £4,266 next year, a staggering increase almost four times as high as only a couple of years ago.

All the while energy companies accumulate vast profits as workers are offered real terms pay cuts to deal with rising living costs. No wonder we have seen a surge in industrial action, people cannot be expected to simply roll over and accept falling living standards while profits go through the roof.

Yet so far there has been absolutely nothing of substance from either the current Prime Minister or the two candidates bidding to replace him. People need robust support from the government to get through the winter and they need it immediately. Either the government does not understand the scale of the crisis we are facing, or they are unwilling to do anything about it – or most likely both.