Lord Ben Houchen 'absolutely' willing to work with Starmer if Tories lose general election

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Lord Ben Houchen has said he will work with Sir Keir Starmer if the Labour leader is elected prime minister. The Tees Valley mayor was successfully re-elected in the year's election, albeit with a much reduced majority - and if the swing against the Conservatives in the region was repeated at a general election, Labour would hold the keys to Number 10. Lord Houchen was made a peer by Boris Johnson, and has been seen as the pinnacle of the Conservatives' presence in the "Red Wall".