Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to adopt a regional daily’s manifesto for its patch “on day one” – while the newspaper described Rishi Sunak’s responses to the document as “scant”.

The Labour leader has vowed to support the Northern Echo’s election manifesto, which the Darlington-based daily launched last week.

The Echo’s six-point manifesto includes securing the future of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant, taking fast action on knife crime, reducing child poverty, sorting dental deserts and waiting list backlogs, committing to a statutory public inquiry into the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust, and introducing exam mitigations for St Leonard’s, a RAAC-hit school on its patch.

Holding a copy of The Northern Echo’s front page campaign launch, Sir Keir said key points in the manifesto were “already wrapped into our plans” for the next Government.

He told the newspaper: “Not only are we in support of the work that you are doing, we’ve actually got the plan in place to make sure we can deliver it from day one.

“That sits alongside our six first steps, which are the steps that we say we’ll be able to get on with in government from day one.”

Mr Sunak, whose Richmondshire constituency falls within the Echo’s patch, also discussed the manifesto at length in an exclusive interview with Echo reporter Phoebe Abruzzese.

However his answers were less clear cut and were described by Phoebe as “scant.”

In a piece about the interview, Phoebe wrote: “He spoke about the Echo’s six priorities for the North East: ensuring the future of the Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe; a public inquiry at a local mental health trust; a reduction in knife crime; a helping hand to get children out of poverty; exam boosts for A-level and GCSE students at a school riddled with RAAC; and increased availability in dental care.

“But detail on regional promises was scant as the Prime Minister outlined national pledges.

“Despite being challenged by the Echo before on his lack of a plan to save the Newton Aycliffe Hitachi factory, Mr Sunak still did not have a definitive plan to keep it open if reelected.”

“Information on how the Tories are planning to fix dental deserts and child poverty in the North East was limited. “