And as Boris Johnson steps down as Prime Minister, it’s time to look back on his high-profile visits to our part of the world.
A year ago this month, he was pictured on a tour of the Nissan factory hours after an announcement from the company that a new electric model would be produced on Wearside – and that a new gigaplant would be built in partnership with Envision AESC.
A year earlier, he was pictured blowing glass at the National Glass Centre before holding a Cabinet meeting there.
In 2016, he was at the crease and playing cricket at Durham’s Riverside ground as part of his tour on the EU referendum Vote Leave campaign bus.
Remember it? Let’s take a closer look.
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