Real Northumberland Murky: Levelling Up? Where’s Blyth’s MP now we’re downlevelled?

Tuesday 17 October 2023

Levelling Up? Where’s Blyth’s MP now we’re downlevelled?

Just like Mary Poppins, during 2019, Ian Levy MP was blown by the east wind onto the doorsteps of Blyth’s houses. He becomes a most unusual nanny for the constituency of Blyth Valley as that east wind hadn’t blown in the same swirling manner since June 1987 when the hunting and shooting Independent MP, John Ryman was ousted by the Labour Leader of Blyth Council and NUM delegate Ronnie Campbell MP.

Ian Levy who destroyed the chances of Susan Dungworth, Labour’s Group Leader on Northumberland County Council and current Labour and Co-operative candidate for the post of Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, that same east wind brought Blyth Valley into the public eye as the first ‘Red Wall’ seat to fall nationally.

That notoriety brought the Tory big guns out and into Blyth Valley with a massive spend announced in 2021 and a plan to bring 8,000 new jobs into the River Blyth industrial sites to service the UK’s biggest battery plant.

Ian Levy MP danced across the rooftops of Blyth’s terraced and council housing like Dick Van Dyke, heralding the arrival of the factory, the first good news Blyth Valley and Wansbeck whom they share the River Blyth with had heard jobs wise for decades. The Tory trumpets could be heard above the blazing saddles after beer at the lodge, as a wonderful future was to be had by all.

Not everything was rosy at the top of the Tory pile and when you're at the top as all of our readers know too well, the only way is down.

Leadership changes following lawbreaking prime ministers antics followed by an economist who failed to bring the economy along with her rhetoric brought in a PM without a real interest in the County of Northumberland, but he sprinkled a little fairy dust our way while sending the prize asset to an Indian company in Somerset as all hope for South East Northumberland got caught in the first westerly breeze which crossed its fabulous beach.

British Volt Failed!

EY came in to manage the failure and suggested an Australian firm, Recharge, took the reins. The footpath must be narrow as it gets down past Harbour View and onto to the Giga site as the Australian also slipped off, he almost floated as his pockets appeared to be empty but were not sure about that.

The companies have had to down their tools and leave the site with the Sunday Times reporting an expose as the County Council led by Tories have a buy back clause on the land but while those who should have administered the changes on behalf of the people of Northumberland who its expected will be left with the bill to resolve this nonsense, procrastinated for eons and according to an EY report below and the Sunday Times article somebody took out a mortgage on the site. Tut Tut! More pressure on the public purse.

Although since the first day the Easterly turned to a mild westerley Ian Levy MP hasn’t been seen or heard on Blyth’s rooftops and has had very little to say about the Jobs situation in his constituency that's now even worse than when he took office.

We can meteorologically predict that a west wind will blow through Blyth at the next General election and after all the dodgy changes from the Tories to boundaries in Northumberland Ian Lavery current MP for Wansbeck will blow in as the winner of the newly formed seat of Blyth with Ashington as its one of the UK’s most deprived areas.