THE new Northern Powerhouse minister has said he wants to be the region’s friend in Whitehall and wished to deliver “real change”, making people wealthier every day.

Jake Berry also rejected the idea that the ministerial role had become a poison chalice and praised the original incumbent, former Stockton South MP James Wharton as an “exceptional minister”.

Mr Berry, who this evening spoke with local business representatives at Teesside University’s Excellence Centre, in Darlington, earlier launched Newcastle University’s new National Centre for Subsea and Offshore Engineering.

The MP for Rossendale and Darwen, in Lancashire, is the third person to hold the post in three years.

His predecessor Andrew Percy, who replaced Mr Wharton, spent a year in the role before resigning, saying he wanted to return to the back benches.

Mr Wharton faced fierce criticism over his perceived inaction over the closure of the SSI Redcar steel plant.

The Northern Powerhouse initiative was launched in 2014 by former Chancellor George Osborne as an attempt to attract investment into northern cities and towns and redress the North-South economic imbalance.

While the Government has argued it remains committed to the project, it received no mention in last week’s Queen Speech.

Mr Berry said that in the Conservative manifesto there had been an absolute commitment to narrow the gap between the North and South and the Northern Powerhouse was a long term project.

He also said that he and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen were part of a “new generation” of politicians who would hold Whitehall to account.

The new minister defended the Conservatives’ deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a minority Government, which will mean £1bn in new funding for Northern Ireland.

He said: “A strong Northern Ireland does not mean a weak North-East and you just have to look at the huge record of investment here to demonstrate that.”

Mr Houchen said the Tees Valley had to forget about what was happening in other areas and concentrate on its own destiny which it could deliver itself through its devolution deal.

He said: “We now have a mayor and combined authority and that brings with it hundreds of millions of pounds worth of guaranteed investment from the Government which we can leverage and build on.

“There are a lot of jealous people looking at we have got because we have got a bloody fantastic deal.”

Away from Mr Berry’s visit, in Parliament opposition MPs lined up to attack the DUP deal with Labour MP Diana Johnson claiming “the money found for the Northern Ireland powerhouse is at the expense of the Northern Powerhouse”.

Middlesbrough-born Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark branded the remarks disappointing and said the North-East was creating jobs at a more rapid rate than anywhere else.