After an airport, a Treasury campus, an ONS campus, a BEIS campus, a free port, the country’s biggest industrial zone and constant praise from the Cabinet, one might think Teesside has had enough wins for a lifetime. Not content with levelling up the north east, Stockton MP Matt Vickers has now won a victory in SW1 – getting the region’s iconic dish, the Parmo, served in Parliament. 

Breaded chicken, smothered in béchamel sauce and topped with your week’s worth of dietary cheese allowance, no night out in Teesside is complete without one.

Vickers enjoyed a photoshoot in the Commons Terrace Cafeteria this morning with the chef, complete with a personalised chef hat. Guido’s senior reporter – a proud north easterner – popped over to Parliament this afternoon to try it out, and can confirm that while not a looker, it tasted great. The closest attempt at replicating the dish he’s found in London so far…

The dish has proved incredibly popular, with a canteen server at one point having to shout at the queue, “Is there anyone that ISN’T here for a parmo?” Fingers crossed it’s not a one time dish…