Andy McDonald

Andy McDonald

Labour — Middlesbrough and Thornaby East

Speaking in the House of Commons on 3 April 2025

Debate

Business of the House

Contribution

I note that the Government have today issued a best value notice to the Tees Valley mayoral combined authority. Concerns around governance, financial mismanagement and procurement have been voiced over a number of years, yet Mayor Ben Houchen has resisted demands for openness and transparency—indeed, just last Friday he openly called questioning members of the public “idiots” and deemed their questions to be “insane”. That all changes today. Will the Leader of the House consider a debate in Government time for this House to consider how we balance our laudable further devolution ambitions with the need for a much more robust system of oversight and accountability?

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