The Northern Echo begins its monthly Fighting Back series by looking at the challenges facing Middlesbrough, the UK town many commentators believe is the least well-equipped to recover from the public sector cuts.

MIDDLESBROUGH’S outspoken Mayor Ray Mallon would like to show the coalition Government the real North-East, but he admits that he is struggling to get their attention.

“I am like the people of this town – I will not give up,” he said.

Mr Mallon is dismissive of Westminster powerbrokers who prefer to pose for a photocall in Newcastle during their whistlestop tours of the region, rather than taking the time to properly understand the issues facing a town such as Middlesbrough.

“The real North-East is found in places like the Tees Valley and the Durham coalfields – not The Sage music centre by the River Tyne,” he said.

An open invitation has been issued by Mr Mallon to Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, to walk the streets of Middlesbrough and “see things from my end of the telescope for a change”. Mr Pickles is yet to take up the offer.

Mr Mallon admits that he quite likes Mr Pickles, adding: “And not just because, like me, he wears braces. I warm to people who speak plain English.

You might not agree with him, but he says it like it is.”

Mr Mallon has made a career of telling it like it is, but he is a sufficiently shrewd politician to realise that the Government is not in the mood to be distracted by a Teesside firebrand railing against their cuts programme.

Some commentators believe Middlesbrough’s dependency on public sector funding could tip the town back into recession.

Mr Mallon is among those battling to ensure it goes in the opposite direction.

Prime Minister David Cameron is thought to hold Middlesbrough’s independent mayor in high esteem, regarding him as the archetype for the regional civic leaders he’d like to see running each of the country’s big cities.

However, sharing a platform with Mr Cameron, whom Mr Mallon reckons “can light up a room”, has not afforded the town any protection.

The mayor was “stunned” by the withdrawal of the £9m Working Neighbourhoods Fund, which means the council will have to tackle social deprivation from its core budget.

In the meantime, Mr Mallon will continue to hammer home his message that a town where 16 of its 22 wards are designated as socially deprived should not bear such a heavy burden.

So, what should be on the itinerary for a minister visiting Middlesbrough?

The Temenos art work, a remodelled town square, and an award-winning university would all reinforce the message that the town is, as Mr Mallon likes to say, punching well above its weight.

He would also want the likes of Mr Pickles to help address the town’s legacy of sub-standard council housing, about 55 per cent of which is in the lowest council tax band; prompting thousands of people to bypass Middlesbrough and settle in the surrounding towns and villages.

The council is bidding for £14.8m from the Regional Growth Fund to improve its housing stock.

Mr Mallon said: “With all of the problems that we have got, there is good news. We have at least four big building firms that want to take huge housing projects forward.

“For a lot of companies it’s business as usual and they want to invest in Middlesbrough.

“This is the engine room of the Tees area.

“We are producing jobs in Middlesbrough, but many of our own people aren’t, or can’t apply for them because they haven’t had the right start in life.

“Every day, about 33,000 people come in to the town from the surrounding areas to work.

“The work is here, I just want to see more of our people better equipped to get the most out of what we have to offer.”