| Aged 29 and 27 respectively, Dehenna Davison and Sara Britcliffe are two of the youngest Tory MPs elected in the North in 2019's General Election. And the MPs for Bishop Auckland in County Durham and Hyndburn in Lancashire have now been brought into the Government fold under the Liz Truss administration. Ms Britcliffe has been given a new job as Conservative Party vice chair responsible for youth while Ms Davison is a junior Minister in the Levelling Up Department. Sheffield-born Ms Davison has been one of the few visible Northern MPs at conference in Birmingham and has been touring fringe events making the case that the ambition of spreading opportunity outside London hasn't been abandoned. She told one event the missions contained in Michael Gove's February Levelling Up White Paper - on topics like crime and housing - were still "front and central". "There does seem to be this very strange emerging narrative for whatever reason the government is backing away from levelling up. I have to say it's complete and utter nonsense. I'm trying to say that at everything I speak at this conference just to really reinforce that message." 
On the main conference stage yesterday, her boss - Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke - insisted the Conservatives have "no lessons to learn from the Labour Party" on levelling up. The Middlesbrough MP told members: "Labour ignored the Midlands and the North when they were in power. For every 10 private-sector jobs created in London and the south between 1998 and 2008, only one was created in the Midlands in the North."
Rees-Mogg says firms could 'go door-to-door' to gauge fracking support  Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg
In recent days Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has clashed with Northern Tory MPs after unveiling plans to lift the ban on fracking. The Government has promised not to go ahead with fracking without local support - but how will they know which areas back the controversial practice? Yesterday at conference Mr Rees-Mogg dismissed the idea of local referendums to gauge support to allow fracking to go ahead - as the Energy Secretary backed drilling in his garden on his Somerset country estate. He said companies could "go around door to door, as politicians do in elections" to gauge support. "Then they have to go around to an identifiable community and if they get 50% plus one in favour then they should be able to go ahead," he told a Telegraph event. "It's early days, early discussions as to how it could be done. I don't think local referendums are necessarily the right idea, turnout in local referendums could be very low so how much real validity would that give you as to consent." To curry favour among residents, he said compensation should be paid to those disrupted by building works and then royalties for the community.
The senior Tory also announced that a prototype nuclear fusion power plant, possibly the first in the world, will be built by 2040 in North Nottinghamshire. The fusion energy plant, part of a programme known as STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), will replace the West Burton coal-fired power station near Retford. The site was chosen ahead of bids from Cumbria and East Yorkshire.
Prisoner gets pub apprenticeship in 'ground-breaking' scheme  The Partridge in Stretton, Chesh
Nestled in the Cheshire countryside, The Partridge pub at Stretton offers "a great place to meet, a tasty bite to eat, and a good night's sleep". But thanks to a new "ground-breaking" scheme announced today, it will be one of the first places in the country to offer an apprenticeship to a serving prisoner. Under the landmark change to legislation made by the Department for Education and Ministry of Justice, offenders in open prisons are as of this week able to begin an apprenticeship while serving their sentence. Prison education provider Novus and apprenticeship provider Total People have teamed up with retail chain the Timpson Group to allow a prisoner at HMPYOI Thorn Cross in Warrington to work as a chef de partie at The Partridge. Novus operates in over 50 prisons and Young Offenders Institutions, mostly across the North and is headquartered in Manchester. Some of its other learners are also set to commence apprenticeships with brewery and pub chain Greene King. Skills Minister and West Yorkshire MP Andrea Jenkyns said today: "This ground-breaking change to the law will not only help us to rehabilitate offenders, it's also plugging the skills gap for the future."
Spiralling construction costs could put flagship projects over budget  The Our Town Hall project in Manchester (Image: Manchester City Council)
They're two of the highest-profile developments going on in Manchester right now, but with the cost of materials in the construction industry rising by more than 44% over the last two years their budgets are starting to spiral. A council report has revealed the £325m restoration of Manchester Town Hall could run over budget due to rising construction costs, as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan reports. The major project – the biggest of its kind in the country – is currently keeping within its budget, but soaring inflation in the sector puts this position at risk. Under the worst case scenario, the Our Town Hall project would need an extra £17m, councillors will be warned at a scrutiny committee meeting next week. Elsewhere, Manchester's new flagship arts centre will cost almost double what was budgeted for before work started with the total spend set to top £200m. The Factory International project will require an additional £25.2m to meet rising construction costs, according to a report. The arts centre which is being built on the former Granada TV Studios site is anticipated to attract up to 1.15m visitors a year when it opens in June 2023. Manchester council has already committed £55.4m towards the major project, and is now considering borrowing cash as part of its plan to finance it further.
'Mammograms aren't comfortable - but they could save your life'  Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson
The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson has spoken out about her breast cancer fight and urged women to come forward for potentially life-saving mammograms. Mayor Anderson was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer earlier this year after a routine screening. She underwent surgery and has since undergone a course of radiotherapy. Writing in a blog, the city leader recalled getting a letter recalling her for a biopsy "before those terrifying words that no one wants to hear were uttered". She added: "Yes, mammograms aren't comfortable – but a few minutes of discomfort are certainly worth your life. We are so lucky in this country that the NHS offer us this chance to spot and stop these bad cells in their tracks. "Recent figures show that in Liverpool, only 57.5% of women took up their invitation in 2021/22, versus the rate for the rest of the county of 64.1%. Of the 2.12 million people who did get screened in the UK, over 17,000 had cancers detected – a stark message to make sure you make that appointment." The diagnosis came during "one of the most difficult periods Liverpool City Council has ever been through" and after the departure of the troubled authority's former chief executive. The mayor was signed off for three months but only took two weeks, before being struck down with a virus. "Clearly my body was telling me I was trying to do too much," she said. 
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Northern Stories  Fanny Stott, left, who became Wakefield's first female Mayor in 1940, pictured with daughter Betty
- A blue plaque to commemorate the life and work of Wakefield's first female mayor has been unveiled. Fanny Stott became Mayor in 1940 and dedicated much of her year in office to raising funds for people in London suffering The Blitz bombing raids at the start of the Second World War. The plaque was unveiled by the current Mayor of Wakefield David Jones, at a garden party held in the grounds of the Stott family's former home.
- Former coal mines that have transformed into Wigan and Leigh's popular green spaces have been nationally recognised as nature reserves. What were once colliery areas known for smoke and soot, loved for their huge employment boosts in their heyday, have now become the 'lungs of Wigan' that dog walkers, bird watchers and nature lovers now aspire to visit. The areas, now called 'The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh', will knit together a total of thirteen sites to create the first National Nature Reserve in Greater Manchester.
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Cheshire East council has been using taxpayers money to maintain more than 500 green space plots of land which may be privately owned. Director of environment and neighbourhood services Paul Bayley said the authority has been maintaining 547 parcels of land not registered as being owned by the council. The matter came to light after some of these green spaces were put up for sale on the open market. -
Sheffield's Elm Lane Fire Station could be the first prefabricated fire station in the UK, if rebuild plans are approved. The station, built in 1973, is "no longer fit for purpose", and will cost approximately £115,000 over the next six years to keep the building in a suitable condition. A new modular building could be in place in as little as 22 weeks from ordering to opening, compared to two years between demolition and a traditional rebuild. -
A new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) that will impose daily tolls to drive into Newcastle city centre has been activated – but motorists still have almost four months before the charges begin. Council bosses announced on Monday morning that they had switched on cameras monitoring all vehicles that enter the city centre, where some older, high-polluting vehicles will soon be met with heavy fees of up to £50 a day in an effort to reduce illegal levels of toxic emissions. While the cameras have come into operation a month earlier than expected, no tolls are being issued under the CAZ until the end of January. -
Tributes have poured in for an 'adored' Wigan councillor known for riding his Harley Davidson and shredding the guitar in his band. Ashton councillor Anthony Sykes, who has been off council duties for a number of months on sick leave, died on Friday, September 30 at the age of 51. He was well known amongst residents for getting hands on with local campaigns – even delivering groceries to people on his motorbike during the Covid lockdown.
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