Monday 23 May 2022 11:04 AM Tory MPs demand 'minister for the North' and cost-of-living action in warning ... trends now

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A group of Tory MPs are demanding a 'minister for the North' as Boris Johnson was warned Red Wall voters will decide his fate at the next general election.

Influential Conservative backbencher Jake Berry, the chairman of the 80-strong Northern Research Group of Tory MPs, insisted the party needed a 'distinctive northern voice' to go 'toe to toe' with Labour mayors in Manchester and Liverpool.

He also demanded Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Treasury change its 'mindset' to offer more support to Britons being hammered by the cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Berry's call for action came with a message for the Prime Minister that northern voters would be 'kingmakers' at the next election.

He described how the party had undergone a 'generational shift' since the 2019 election, when many voters in Labour's former northern heartlands switched to the Tories.