PM reveals his ancestors were bakers from Darlington

During his visit to Teesside, the Prime Minister said the decision to move there was “fantastic”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Tom Wilkinson/PA)
PA Wire
Tom Wilkinson4 March 2021

Boris Johnson revealed his ancestors were bakers from Darlington as he visited the North East of England to talk about his levelling up agenda.

He was with Chancellor Rishi Sunak at the busy Teesport site at Middlesbrough, which will become the country’s largest Freeport.

In his Budget, Mr Sunak announced the Treasury will set up a northern campus in Darlington, dubbed Treasury North, which will see 750 jobs relocated from the capital.

The market town beat competition of Leeds, Newcastle and Bradford, raising eyebrows among some commentators who thought senior civil servants might prefer to move to a bigger city.

During his visit to Teesside, the Prime Minister said the decision to move there was “fantastic”.

He added: “I can tell them (Treasury workers) it is a wonderful place.

“My ancestors actually were bakers in Darlington, you may be interested to discover.

“So they have been making the dough for the nation for a long time.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves his hard hat as he travels aboard a boat on the River Tees during a visit to Teesport in Middlesbrough (Scott Heppell/PA)
PA Wire

The Chancellor said the Treasury will be able to attract “fantastic talent” to Darlington.

“We want to make sure we are showing the kind of government that we want to be which is to level up opportunity across the country,” Mr Sunak said.

After he won the 2019 General Election, Mr Johnson visited Sedgefield to celebrate victory in the North and spoke about his ancestors coming from Darlington.

The Northern Echo reported that Mr Johnson had been presented earlier in the campaign with a copy of records from St Cuthbert’s Church in the town.

They showed that his great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas John Johnson, was born in Darlington and baptised on December 19, 1813.

His parents were Hannah and Walter Johnson, of Darlington, and Mr Johnson was described as a “bread baker”, the newspaper revealed.

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