Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen says political power has been dominated for too long by a self-serving metropolitan elite who have "little idea what life is like for most British people".

       But he says it is crucial to the economic future of the regions that local people apply for the "tsunami" of new government roles rather than allowing them to be grabbed by London-centric civil servants.

       Writing exclusively for the Daily Express, he says not only must the narrow talent pool of recruiting from Oxford and Cambridge universities end, but also the brain-drain from areas such as Middlesbrough to big cities like Leeds.

       A total of 80 positions are being advertised at Darlington's Economic Campus with more than 1,500 civil service jobs set to be relocated from Whitehall to the Government's new hub.

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       These include government departments and agencies including the Treasury, Department for International Trade and the Office for National Statistics.

       The Tory mayor is determined local people seize the opportunity to help rebalance how departments are run.

       A range of roles, from traineeships to graduate and senior positions are on offer, including jobs in policy, strategy, HR and business analysis to software development, communications and planning and logistics.

       The roles offer salaries of between ￡25,000 to ￡56,000 and it is envisaged the jobs will help kick-start the region's whole economy. The mayor said: "When we secured the relocation of senior Treasury jobs to Darlington I said it would just be the start of a tsunami of civil service jobs coming to the region.

       "It means local people who call Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool home can have a rewarding career in the civil service without having to leave the place they love."

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       Levelling up is a huge opportunity for the UK.

       Soon, Darlington will be home to 1,500 top civil servants. Just seeing good quality jobs like these in the area will inspire people to aim higher, unleashing local talent.

       It's crucial these jobs don't go to Whitehall insiders reluctantly moving out of town. We need as many applications as possible from local people.

       I'm shouting from the rooftops for people to seize this opportunity. The North was the UK's beating heart in the Industrial Revolution and it can be its heart again: driving jobs, investment and growth.