Richard Holden: Knightmare on Starmer Street. Labour loses control of Durham – held by the party for a century.

In terms of parliamentary seats, CCHQ now needs to be targeting the North East of England much more broadly for the next election.

Gavin Rice: The Conservative campaign in Hartlepool kicks off today. But will Johnson deliver for his new working class voters?

The calling-in of a planning application to open a coalmine at Whitehaven suggests prioritising green optics over Northern livelihoods.

Neil O’Brien: The view that manufacturing is a relic of the past is itself a relic of the past

It accounts for a larger share of output and a much larger share of productivity growth in poorer regions of the UK

The red white and blue archipelago: how localism can sustain the Union.

The final part in ConHome’s series this week on the future of the United Kingdom.

Jonathan Werran: The Union and the English question. The answer is to let a hundred localist flowers bloom

The first in a five-part ConHome series this week on the future of the United Kingdom.

Paul Howell and Heather Wheeler: Full HS2 is critical to our election commitment to rebalance the economy

We cannot waste the opportunity that our Government’s high-speed rail investment plans presents.

Mark Lehain: The Government can’t afford to surrender in the war on woke

The fifth piece in a ConHome series this week on the Prime Minister’s Reset Moment – and what should follow from it.

Darren Grimes: The frustration, bafflement and despair that the lockdown is forcing on my family and friends in the North-East

It is much more than its main urban areas. So the restrictions feel really unfair to some – such as those I know in County Durham.

Neil O’Brien: Introducing the new Levelling Up Taskforce – and its first report on how we can measure progress

So how do we get more good, high-paying jobs into poorer areas? One specific opportunity relevant in a lot of Red Wall seats is advanced manufacturing.

Ben Southwood: The Government’s housing plans need to be refined – not scrapped. They will work if the detail is got right.

These figures will change substantially in the final version of the algorithm, especially because it will take into account green belt restrictions.

James Frayne: Big tax rises would make Tory campaigning impossible – in Red Wall seats as well as traditionally blue ones

The public would catch up when growth slowed and redundancies rose. It would become clear that raising taxes on employers doesn’t help anyone.

Algorithm or no algorithm, the UK needs houses. Fast.

Clearly the Government’s model is flawed. But there is no perfect formula for solving this crisis.

Neil O’Brien: The next algorithm disaster – coming to a Conservative constituency near you. This time, it’s housing growth.

Most Tory MPs will be seeing large increases in the housing targets for their seats, while many Labour MPs see their local targets reduced.

Darren Grimes: Johnson must face down the teaching unions with Thatcher-like resolve

The Prime Minister will be rejected by the aspirational working class that voted for him in large numbers if he cannot win this battle.

Andrew Mitchell: I used to be adamantly opposed to all forms of assisted dying. Here’s why I’ve changed my mind.

By the end of these meetings, I was invariably left with the overwhelming feelings that we would not let an animal we loved be treated in such a way.