North East leaders have raised fears that Boris Johnson's collapsing Government could destabilise devolution talks.
Negotiations for a region-wide deal are at an advanced stage, but the exit of Michael Gove along with all his junior ministers from the Department for Levelling Up could stall progress. Teesside-born Greg Clark was appointed as the new levelling up secretary on Thursday lunchtime.
North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll told ChronicleLive that whoever replaced Mr Gove and his team will need to provide a "solution to this instability", while the Tory leader in Northumberland has echoed the concerns.
Read More: North East leaders 'weeks away' from agreeing devolution deal to reunite the region
The proposed deal would deliver more than £3bn of government funding over 30 years and could generate more than 17,000 jobs. It would also see a regional mayor elected to govern a new combined authority covering Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside, Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.
Mr Driscoll said: “Central government is clearly totally unstable right now. But any government that wants to win an election needs to convince people in the English regions that it will improve their areas.
"So we might see new ministers. Perhaps the current ministers could be reappointed under a new leader - who knows? But the fact is, devolution works. As far as expanding North East devolution, we’re at an advanced stage of negotiations, and I’ve been in touch with ministers - and ex-ministers - today. But we do need a solution to this instability to make progress for our region.”
A previous bid for a North East devolution deal collapsed dramatically in 2016 amid a political split, after which Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland broke away to form their own North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) for which Mr Driscoll was elected as Labour mayor.
In the intervening years, leaders have come together locally and a deal with central government was just inches away. With the prospect of a new Prime Minister and a new agenda on the horizon, the future of the deal is now anything but clear.
Glen Sanderson, the Conservative leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "Today we have no ministers in the Department for Levelling Up, I have no ministers to talk to about negotiations and we had been at an advanced stage.
"It falls to everyone in Westminster to deal with this matter and get ministers in position, to move forward and continue with the work we are doing."
Amid speculation that Boris Johnson would resign but seek to stay as prime minister until the autumn while a replacement is elected from within the Tory party, Coun Sanderson said that the "most important thing is that we fill or refill these posts that are crucial in the government".
He added: "It is crucial that we get those filled for the government to work. [Whether Mr Johnson stays as prime minister until the autumn] is above my pay grade."
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