The job of “northern powerhouse” minister has been downgraded – and responsibility handed to a home counties MP – triggering accusations that Boris Johnson is betraying his new supporters.

Campaigners reacted angrily after it emerged that Simon Clarke will take on the role, despite being a junior minister who – unlike his predecessor Jake Berry – will not attend cabinet meetings.

Responsibility at cabinet level has been given to Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, who represents the seat of Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire, just outside London.

Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool city region mayor, said: “For all Johnson’s talk about levelling up the north, his first act is to downgrade the minister responsible.

“What kind of message does that send to people across the north whose borrowed votes helped put him in Downing Street?”

And Sarah Longlands, director of the IPPR North think tank, said: “The symbolism behind a watered-down northern powerhouse minister role is unlikely to go down well with northerners.

“While improvement in transport connectivity is an important component, to truly level up we need to get the basics right, which means good schools, decent health services and adequate housing.”

James Mitchinson, the editor of the Yorkshire Post newspaper, tweeted that scrapping the role in its previous form suggested “levelling up was a lie”.

Some suspected that the prime minister and his aides had forgotten about the northern powerhouse role, after details of the new set-up only emerged as the reshuffle ended.

Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Show all 17 1 /17 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Sajid Javid Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Rishi Sunak Promoted from Chief Secretary to the Treasury to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the dramatic resignation of Sajid Javid Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Esther McVey Sacked as housing minister AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Andrea Leadsom Sacked as business secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Alok Sharma Appointed business secretary (previously international development secretary). He has also been put in charge of the UK’s COP26 climate change summit PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Resigned as the government's most senior law officer AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Suella Braverman Appointed Attorney General and she will attend cabinet EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Theresa Villiers Sacked as environment secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: George Eustice Appointed environment, food and rural affairs secretary. He was a farming and fisheries minister Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed international development secretary (previously parliamentary under-secretary for defence) Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Julian Smith Sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Appointed Secretary of Northern Ireland Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Appointed chief secretary to the Treasury PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Oliver Dowden Appointed culture secretary, succeeding Nicky Morgan Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Skidmore Sacked as eucation minister Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Nus Ghani Sacked as transport minister Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/CC BY 3.0 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: George Freeman Sacked as transport minister Getty

Mr Johnson re-entered Downing Street promising to “level up” the country after winning an 80-seat majority based on snatching Labour strongholds in the North and Midlands.

Mr Berry, the MP for Bury, in Lancashire, was offered a more senior cabinet role in the reshuffle, but quit to spend more time with his family. He said: “I firmly believe that the northern powerhouse was the foundation stone of the blue wall that delivered a Conservative majority government.”

The slogan, dreamt up by David Cameron and George Osborne, has been undermined by northern councils suffering the steepest funding cuts and chaos on local rail lines.

Some believe giving Mr Shapps the cabinet role revealed a mistaken belief that it was “all about trains”, rather than devolving power to the north.

Mr Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, a local government minister, defended the set-up, saying: “Levelling up is a central task of this government, and I am massively grateful to my predecessor Jake Berry for all his hard work in this brief.”