THE Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer has claimed the North-East has received a “particularly bad deal” while promising to address the need for transport improvements during a visit to the region.

Labour’s John McDonnell joined fellow MPs to look at progress being made as part of an ongoing £2.7m refurbishment of Middlesbrough Railway Station.

During his tour of the station yesterday, Mr McDonnell reiterated his party’s pledge to invest £400m of the proposed £250bn National Transformation Plan on improving Darlington and Middlesbrough’s railway stations and electrifying lines from Northallerton to Teesport.

However, when asked if Labour supported North-East trainbuilders Hitachi in their bid to secure a multi-million pound HS2 contract, Mr McDonnell did not confirm a specific commitment to the tender.

He said: “The reason I’m visiting the area is because we’re looking at what regeneration opportunities we’ve got right across the county, but particularly in the North.

“We looked at the percentages in transport investment, over 50 per cent goes into London. Less than two per cent in the North-East – that cannot be right.

“People are recognising this across the country now and if we don’t have a balanced economy, we’re not going to grow as an economy.”

However, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen criticised the National Transformation Plan.

He said: “John McDonnell’s plan will do untold damage to the lives of working people in the Tees Valley.

“He has admitted his economic policies would cause a run on the pound, and his nationalisation programme will hit the taxpayer with an eye-watering £312bn bill.”