Southampton-born Rishi Sunak says he has been the Conservative Party's 'most northerly chancellor for 70 years'

Rishi Sunak claimed he was the "most Chancellor of the North" for 70 years as he sought to win the support of Tory members in a leadership race in Leeds.

The Southampton-born, Oxford-educated leadership candidate and now London resident went head-to-head with rival and favorite Liz Truss in front of the Tory stalwarts on Thursday night in the first of 12 such events across the country.

During audience questions , a Tory member of Tatton, near Manchester Airport, challenged Mr Sunak that the Government was failing to deliver its 'brilliant' vision for the Northern Power Station, net zero and leveling up, which, according to n him, "is not the focus of this campaign".

Going further, he told the former Chancellor: "The Treasury seems to view the North as a cost, not as a great value investment."

But Mr Sunak - who took over as Chancellor in 2020 from Rochdale-born Sajid Javid, MP for Bromsgrove in the West Midlands - has responded that he “strongly disagreed” with the Tory member, saying: “I am the most northerly chancellor this party has had in about 70 years.

" I am the Chancellor who placed the Treasury at Darlington. Not just in the North, but also not in a big city where everyone expected him to go, but in a place like Darlington to demonstrate our commitment to him. I am the Chancellor who approved the biggest investment in rail infrastructure across the North. »

Mr. Sunak, who holds the secure seat of Richmond in Yorkshire, also highlighted his freeport plans, which he said "right now in Teesside is attracting investment in jobs in the industries of the future - in offshore wind , in hydrogen, in carbon capture and storage".

Comparing the region five years ago after the collapse of a major steelworks in Redcar cost their jobs thousands of people, the former Chancellor described the region as now "brimming with opportunity and optimism about the future", adding: "I want to bring the same level of optimism and excitement across this country, and across the North.

"I did it as Chancellor and I can certainly do it as Prime Minister," he added, drawing applause from an initially lukewarm crowd.

Both candidates sought to showcase their local ties during the roundups, with Mr Sunak describing having been elected MP for Richmond as 'the greatest honor of my life', and Ms Truss reflects on his controversial remarks about his time at school in Leeds.

'I hope he doesn't there are no teachers of mine in the audience. And if there is, I'm really, really sorry," joked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, before saying later that "teaching was unequal" and "there were children who passed between the cracks".

Elsewhere in the hustings, Mr. Sunak drew applause by replying that "it's not about the shoes I'm wearing or the suit I'm wearing, it's about what I'm going to do for the country", after LBC presenter Nick Ferrari challenged him on his "image".

The hustings host took aim at the fact that Mr. Sunak had held a US green card while working as chancellor, was photographed with cars belonging to other people and wore Prada shoes criticized by Nadine Dorries this week - who later