Rishi Sunak pressed over commitment to levelling up in the West Midlands
Rishi Sunak was pressed over his commitment to levelling up in the West Midlands during his first appearance at PMQs.
The new Prime Minister was asked to outline his "vision" for levelling up, having previously insisted he would stick to the Tories 2019 manifesto pledge to reduce regional inequalities.
Mr Sunak's rise to Number 10 has been met with concerns across the region after he was opposed for leadership by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street over the summer.
Mr Street backed Liz Truss after saying Mr Sunak had failed to give him "firm commitments" over a number of key infrastructure schemes.
The issue of levelling up – which was one of Boris Johnson's key manifesto pledges – was raised in the Commons by Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant.
He said: "I know that the West Midlands Mayor very much welcomes the reappointment of the Levelling Up Secretary [Michael Gove], and that he looks forward to working with our new Prime Minister.
"So may I just ask him: what is his vision for levelling up?"
Mr Sunak said: "What I can say is that our desire is to ensure that people, wherever they live in our fantastic country, have enormous pride in the place they call home, and every opportunity to succeed.
"It is the fantastic mayor Andy Street who is delivering that for the West Midlands." In his first speech on becoming PM outside Number 10, Mr Sunak pledged to deliver on the "promises" of the manifesto, including "levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit".
A number of councils in the West Midlands have tabled bids for round two of the levelling up fund. They include Wolverhampton, which has bid for schemes including £20m for the Bilston health and regeneration programme.
Sandwell is looking for £80m for a range of projects, including new homes in Tipton and a primary school in Smethwick.
Mr Sunak told MPs that successful bids would be announced later this year.
