The Leaders Council is proud to announce the publication of its special report into the Levelling Up agenda and whether it is likely to be carried out as intended in the wake of the cost-of-living troubles, the energy crisis and rampant inflation.
The Levelling Up agenda was a cornerstone of the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto, which saw Boris Johnson cruise to a landslide victory at the polls against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.
Referred to by ministers as a “moral, social and economic programme for the whole of government”, the Levelling Up White Paper published in February 2022 set out in 12 UK-wide missions how opportunity is to be spread more evenly across the country between now and 2030.
The views and insights of MPs, industry bodies and business leaders were used to compile the special report, which will now be presented to relevant policymakers and industry chiefs.
The 12 missions outline that levelling up will encompass a multitude of areas including pay, employment, productivity and transport, as well as attainment, skills, training, life expectancy and perceived wellbeing. Levelling up also targets further elements such as pride of place, tackling crime and increasing homeownership across the country, while there will be opportunities for “devolution deals” for every region of England that desires one.
It is widely accepted across the report that the future of levelling up “retains a place in the ministerial vernacular”, in the words of Andrew Lewer MP. Multiple contributors say that this is illustrated by prime minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to reinstate Michael Gove as levelling up secretary and take the agenda forward.
Despite the ambition of the White Paper, however, The Centre for Inequality and Levelling Up [CEILUP] at the University of West London warns that the agenda is “lacking momentum” in its delivery and eight of the 12 missions were at high risk of not meeting its targets by 2030.
Some go further than this, with Amanda Meachin of Community & Business Partners in the Northwest suggesting that there is a lack of knowledge about the grants and opportunities available through levelling up, while Oldham headteacher Andrew Clowes said that he’d seen more ‘levelling down’ in his community as opposed to levelling up.
But what are your thoughts on levelling up and where it stands? Let us know here.
Read the full special report into the Levelling Up agenda here.
Photo by Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities , The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP - , OGL 3, on Wikimedia Commons
