FORMER Conservative leader William Hague admitted that there was no "magic bullet" to revive his party's fortunes in the North.

The MP for Richmond has been appointed the first chairman of the party's Northern Board, which holds its inaugural meeting today.

The Tories hold 19 Parliamentary seats across the North-East, North-West and Yorkshire and Humberside - but would need to win a further 27 targets for David Cameron to become the next Prime Minister.

Mr Hague, now Shadow Foreign Secretary, has been charged with leading the party's fight-back in a region where the party has struggled to make any meaningful impact for more than 20 years.

He said: "If we have extraordinary gains elsewhere, of course we can win without the North, but it isn't something I would want to see - it is an important part of the Conservative party's revival that it takes place in the North.

"I don't think there is a magic bullet - it is about endless persistence."

Mr Hague was speaking during a visit to Ramside Hall, in Durham City, where he met some of the 25 members of Conservative Future expected to contest seats in the city's forthcoming council elections.