The MP is probably asking the wrong question.
An airport is a piece of land that has been substantially modified to allow people in the area to travel very quickly to other places in Europe.
That piece of land is ultimately a local resource, and the question to be asked, is whether this resource gives the greatest benefit to local people by being used for air transport, or whether it would give greater benefit in some alternate use.
Scrapping passenger flights at MME but keeping the land as an airport achieves relatively little for the people of Middlesbrough, apart from maybe encouraging other airlines to open routes to NCL (e.g. LH to Frankfurt for onward connections).
If MME is acting as a major drain on local Govt funds so that other projects that would benefit the area cannot take place, or there is a clear need for a large area of land for some alternate use, then closing the airport may be worthwhile. Otherwise, best for Govt to let it carry on until someone comes up with a better use for the land.