I WOULD like to support and endorse The Northern Echo’s Fighting Back campaign, especially in relation to the page one story “Make this a new dawn” (Echo, Jan 27).

As one of the elected members on the Tees Valley Unlimited Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) I recognise the amount of work to meet the Government’s deadline for the £80m to regenerate our sub-region which has the potential to create 11,000 jobs.

I would like to remind Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that he said he would not hang out the North-East to dry when it came to public spending cuts.

Those words seem very hollow with the announcement of multi-million pound cuts across the region.

Here is a chance for the Government to redeem itself by recognising that bids put in by the Tees Valley LEP could be the springboard to regenerate a part of the North-East that has taken a battering during the recession.

Councillor George Dunning, leader Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council