Judging by this speech the danger for the government's levelling up agenda is that it simply becomes a catch all term for govt policy on almost anything. PM just cited spending on crime, on mental health, on community sport all part of levelling up.
"We are literally levelling up funding for primary and secondary education with a higher level of funding per pupil."
So in this case levelling up appears to be a synonym for increasing spending.
So in this case levelling up appears to be a synonym for increasing spending.
But Q is what's distinctive about that for this govt? Why couldn't any govt have described their spending in that way?
Bit more meat here from PM on political devolution- says that he sees no reason that he sees no reason that counties and rural areas shouldn't enjoy the sort of devolution of powers to their areas as we've seen in the city regions.
As have been saying for a long time, the question lurking at th heart of "levelling up" is what the govt means by it. Initially it sounded radical because it implied redistriubution of resources from richer regions to poor.
https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1369629415425118208?s=20
It implied trying to increase output in the poorest regions, reducing the gap between them and the south east. Increasingly though the government and ministers use it as a term for general economic improvement, general spending, everywhere getting better.
Well, if that's the case, that is something every government ever has believed, it isn't new or distinctive.
Indeed, you could make the argument if that is all it means, it's less distinctive either than New Labour's focus on RDAs or Osborne's Northern Powerhouse...
Indeed, you could make the argument if that is all it means, it's less distinctive either than New Labour's focus on RDAs or Osborne's Northern Powerhouse...
...which focussed on the agglomerative power of conurbations and increases in output via those conurbations.
The most distinctive approach the govt has atm is on towns and coastal areas but economists worry that if that boils down to quite disparate strands of spending...
The most distinctive approach the govt has atm is on towns and coastal areas but economists worry that if that boils down to quite disparate strands of spending...
...in these places it really won't have much effect.
Another thing to note is PM said "Germany has succeeded in levelling up and we haven't"
True enough but also true to say that Germany has decentralised political structures far beyond anything which exists in England at the moment and anything which is on the table
True enough but also true to say that Germany has decentralised political structures far beyond anything which exists in England at the moment and anything which is on the table
This stuff isn’t easy. We have profound regional inequalities which won’t be easy to ameliorate-have to wait for the detail of the White paper. But we’re still not much the wiser either in terms of an actual definition of levelling up, broad strategy or the detail.
Again, seems the government is answering the question- it's not about closing the gap but instead that everywhere should "level up." And as I say, that really isn't very radical, being something to which any govt would subscribe.
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1415712032565891081?s=20
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