The government has revealed more details of its plan to upgrade troubled regions and narrow the gap between the poorest and wealthiest parts of the country.
Michael Gove, the rising secretary, has released a new white paper outlining government plans to revitalize regions plagued by deindustrialization and economic decline for years.
But critics say the plan doesn’t go nearly far enough – and that there’s a clear lack of new money to invest. So what’s in the government’s ramp-up plan?
READ MORE: What is a Level Up? The term is explained because Boris Johnson used messages in his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference
What does level mean?
“Leveling” has been a commonly used political buzzword since the 2019 general election – resulting in a landslide victory for the Conservative Party.
The term refers to the government’s stated intention to reduce disparities between the richest and poorest parts of the UK.
Britain’s regional disparities are among the widest in Europe, and they have been widening since the 1980s, when the old industries – including textiles, steel, coal mining and shipbuilding – which once largely supported certain regions have largely disappeared.
What has replaced the relatively safe, unionized industrial work of earlier eras has often been more precarious, non-union service work – including zero-hour contracts and agency work.
It is widely accepted that political discontent in Britain’s so-called “rust belt” was a factor in the vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
What does the government’s increase plan say?
The government’s ramp-up white paper, released this week, outlines plans to improve services, including public transport, broadband and education in “left behind” regions.
In addition, the government intends to create more regional mayors, such as Andy Street in the West Midlands, Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Ben Houchen of Tees Valley.
Existing projects will be brought together in 12 “national missions”, including initiatives to bring 5G broadband to the “vast majority” of UK households, improve public transport outside London and end illiteracy and innumerability.
However, Labour’s Lisa Nandy, Michael Gove’s colleague, said the white paper contained “few new ideas” and consisted mostly of “slogans”.
Stay up to date on day trips, nights out, shopping and more with our Daily What’s On email updates