By Ben Kerrigan-
The Uk government has promised to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the country have been announced by the government. The strategy, unveiled by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, will take until 2030 and aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport.
Mr Gove said it would “shift both money and power into the hands of working people”.
Labour criticized the plans, saying they contained no new money and little fresh thinking.
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Central to the levelling up white paper are what are termed 12 “national missions” to be achieved, all by 2030, many of them phrased in fairly general terms. This is what the missions sets out to increase pay, employment and productivity in every part of the UK, with each containing “a globally competitive city” and a smaller gap between top performing and other areas.
Public transport connectivity across the UK will also be “significantly closer to the standards of London” including integrated ticketing and simpler fares.
The levelling up will involve investing in towns, cities and rural and coastal areas, with thelevelling up secretary stating that “as well as a clear commandment to leave the European Union” the referendum “was also a way of saying to people in SW1, people like me, ‘look, it’s vital that you change the economic model of this country”.
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Mr Gove added: “It’s all very well if people are in London and the South East in financial services and others do well, we don’t begrudge that. But you’ve got to listen to us’.”
He said mistakes had been made by “parties of both colours” and that “one of the things in the past is there have been sincere and committed attempts by politicians left and right to deal with this”.
“But nothing as comprehensive or as long-term as the plan that we’re setting out today,” Mr Gove said.
Boris Johnson has described the plan as the central mission of his premiership, he’s given a major speech on it, he’s even created a brand new government department dedicated to it – but for all emphasis, the term “levelling up” is often met with blank faces.
The white paper published today goes further than anything before it to offer a definition: breaking it down into “12 missions” that aim to tackle different aspects of geographical inequality in the UK.
Some are more detailed than others, but for the first time there is a list of clear targets against which the government will ultimately be judged: not only will voters now be able to see what levelling up actually is, they’ll be able to know whether or not it has been delivered.
In the Conservatives’ 2019 general election-winning manifesto, the party said its focus would be “levelling up every part of the UK” and the term has since become a key slogan for Boris Johnson’s government.
In more practical terms, it includes an improvement in perceived wellbeing in all parts of the UK, with a narrowed gap between areas with the highest and lowest levels.
The British government is also promising a rise across the whole UK of “pride in place”, defined as “people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community”, with a narrowing of gaps between areas with the highest and lowest levels.
An overall fall in homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime, focused on worst-affected areas.
A devolution deal for “every part of England that wants one”, with powers “at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified, long-term funding settlement”.
Included in the plan is the goal to provide every part of England access to “London-style” powers and a mayor if they want it, according to the levelling-up strategy, with the expectation that they would be able to target spending more effectively.
The ambitious plans would transform England into one of the most enviable countries in the world to live in, but it remains to be seen how realistic they are, and how quickly they can be implemented.
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