A NORTH east MP is calling for change to stop the decline of industry in the region as part of a new book published by the Labour Party.

Anna Turley, who represents Redcar, has co-authored a chapter in new book 'Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour'.

The MP is demanding that the government breaks from London-centric economy and focus on regions where industrial decline is having a devastating impact on communities.

In the chapter,which celebrates the pioneering efforts of people on Teesside, Ms Turley points to the South Tees Development Corporation, the Tees Collective clean industry project, and Teesside’s thriving digital industries as models for creating more jobs across the North with the right support.

“We have to ensure that our regions are equipped to take advantage of these new industries and benefit from the new jobs that will be created in them," she said.

"Industries on the banks of Tees already have aspirations, through the Tees Collective, to establish Europe’s first carbon capture and storage zone, decarbonising local industry and creating at least 6,000 new green jobs.

"The South Tees Mayoral Development Corporation, the first of its kind outside of London, has a masterplan to regenerate the 4,500 acre site around the former steelworks, bringing new industries and creating 20,000 new jobs. The area is also becoming a hotbed for digital innovation, attracting new digital and creative businesses.

"But national policy must do much more to help the regions and local areas with the tools to develop their own tailored inclusive growth strategies that can take advantage of these."

The MP's constituency is currently in the spotlight of a BBC documentary series – The Mighty Redcar – which has focussed on how the closure of the SSI steel plant had affected the entire community.

She said: “For too long now the focus has been on London and success in the City, with an expectation that the wave of wealth will spread out across the country and lift up areas like Teesside.

"But instead, over the past thirty years, industries and manufacturing in the North have been allowed to decline. In Redcar we experienced the hands off approach most harshly when our steelworks was allowed to close. Just abandoned as if it were a sunset industry not worth saving.

"I contributed to this book because I wanted to tell our story, the difficulties and the optimism. The Mighty Redcar documentary is giving a new generation a voice and we must listen and build them a better future."