Another Brash PR Crash: Labour MP Slams Local Development Corporation Powers – Forgetting That His Wife Sits on the Board...

Labour MP Jonathan Brash suffers 'A Biden Moment', after claiming planning powers need to be taken away from Ben Houchen’s development corporation asap, only to find his wife sits on the very same board he wants to abolish...

27th July 2025

Hartlepool MP Jonathan Biden (Sorry Brash) has once again managed to drop himself in it — only this time by attacking the Hartlepool Development Corporation, only to find himself knee-deep in hypocrisy.

The Labour backbencher took to social media over the weekend to criticise the very development corporation operating in his own constituency, with Brash arguing that planning powers should be returned to "democratically elected politicians" and called on ministers to “curb the powers” of development corporations. But in doing so, he completely neglected to mention one significant crucial detail: his own wife, Labour Councillor Pamela Hargreaves, sits on the board of the Hartlepool Development Corporation (HDC).

Jonathan Brash's Wife Pamela Hargreaves is listed as an Independent member of the same board he wants to see abolished.

Yes, that’s right — while Brash paints the HDC as an unaccountable quango undermining democracy, whilst his own household is directly represented on its boardroom table.

Cllr Hargreaves, also chairs Hartlepool Borough Councils regeneration board.

Even more astonishingly, Cllr Hargreaves isn’t just a passive presence. She's also is the cabinet member for regeneration at Hartlepool Borough Council — meaning she plays a direct role in shaping the very developments Brash claims to be concerned about. And if that wasn’t enough to raise eyebrows, it turns out Brash himself voted for the creation of the Development Corporation when he was a councillor for Hartlepool Borough Council, backing the very powers he now claims to oppose. A convenient little Labour U-turn, if ever there was one.

What’s Behind the Criticism?

HMO's are becoming a major problem in Hartlepool, with numerous developments being rubberstamped by the towns development corporation.

Brash’s sudden outburst appears to be linked to increasing public concern over the transformation of Hartlepool’s historic Church Street. The Hartlepool Development Corporation has come under fire for green-lighting a flurry of planning approvals allowing swathes of town centre buildings to be converted into Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

What’s fuelling local anger is that many of these applications come from the same developers time and again — raising questions over whether these so called 'developers' are getting favourable treatment by the development corporation for buying up properties in an area seemingly no one wants to be, worrying still is the fear that these properties once approved, whilst billed as "student accommodation," may in fact be used to house illegal immigrants, in a town already stretched by controversial asylum policies and heightened public tensions.

Hartlepool Borough Council has now launched a 12-month consultation on invoking what's known as Article 4 Directions, which would close planning loopholes that currently allow landlords to convert family homes into HMOs without full planning permission. But these rules won't apply in areas controlled by the Hartlepool Development Corporation — creating a patchwork system where property developers can play the boundaries to their advantage.

A Touchpaper Issue

In a town already rocked by previous civil unrest over the housing of illegal immigrants in the area in the wake of the Southport Murders, this issue is more than just about bricks and mortar. It's about the growing disconnect between local people and the political classes who are supposed to represent them.

Jonathan Brash’s attempt to position himself as a champion of local democracy might now have backfired spectacularly. Not only does his own record undermine his claims, but the direct involvement of his wife in the very same organisation he’s attacking makes his criticism look more like political theatre than principled opposition.

For local residents, the message is clear: behind the headlines and soundbites, the same Labour figures are deeply embedded in the very decisions which are fuelling local resentment.

You can’t have it both ways, Mr Brash.

If the Development Corporation is truly out of control, perhaps start by asking your wife what’s going on behind those closed doors.

After all, she’s on the board.

You voted for it.

And once again, you thought the public forgot about it !

Not here they don't !