Thread by @viralinfo

Machine Learning: Feature - The North Will Rise Again. The North of England has an incredible historical connection with the industrial growth of Britain. Why does Boris Johnson's 'levelling up' seem so empty, yet still attract Northern voters?

If we go back to the looms & cotton spinners of the early industrial revolution, mechanised approaches increased productivity exponentially. Great cities, such as Manchester, grew around the shift from cottage industry in the county of Lancashire, to full scale production plants.

This economic jump was not unrelated to Britain's expanding empire & ability to import cotton; itself driven by the slave trade. From our history lessons, we will know that contingent growth of the railways & evolution of steam trains made England into a connected country.

Jumping forward to 2010, the coalition government devised the Northern Powerhouse concept linking Hull to Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool & Newcastle. If you've travelled on railways in the North, you will know that the rolling stock is archaic to say the least.

The Northern Powerhouse concept had some spine. It was about rail, science & innovation, dragging the economic centre away from London. It also had a cultural dimension, now in realisation as The Factory in Manchester. But it sat alongside 'austerity', a wipe out of local funds.

However, the evolution of soundbite populism meant that successive Tory Prime Ministers could never follow through on their predecessors 'grand projets', a matter of ego of course. Cameron's 'Life Chances' scuppered by Theresa May, giving way to Johnson's 'Levelling Up'.

A consequence of this is that long term infrastructural plans, interventions in poverty, or opportunities for young people are never truly deployed. In many towns & cities, pockets of poverty & worklessness have replicated over 3 generations. This spans Labour & Tory governments.

The slogans shift to gain electoral advantage, while comprehensive long term planning is never followed through. Poverty among English children has been stuck at 30% for over 10 years (@jrf_uk ). Walk around Richmond (in London) & Bransholme (Hull) & see the divide for yourself.

Levelling up is the latest empty soundbite, still winning support & votes in the North. It's as if a bit of cardboard on one corner of the Northern table will make it all good. But the disinvestment & pulling of resources under the Torys in Northern communities is clear.

Young people in NE or NW England will not have access to a privileged education, they will not have a paternal safety net & they will not have aspirations to be 'World King'. Poverty of aspiration comes from ingrained & inbuilt unfairness in the UK system.

'Levelling Up' turns out to have less substance than 'Life Chances' & the Powerhouse concept. It doesn't have any core ideas, planning or cross party support. It is a busted flush, but Johnson still enjoys Northern votes & support. So, how can this be?

Labour under @Keir_Starmer has not articulated a clear vision for the North either. Incisive questions in the commons are no replacement for a fully costed scheme of renewal for the North. Devolution has a role but Labour needs some points on the board.

The North of England has been about community, care & collective responsibility. For the North to rise again, it needs investment in new forms of education, vocational & academic pathways. It needs a Green transport plan, this time with money behind it, & consistent delivery.

Education can be linked closely to employment & economic improvement. It's not that difficult to work out that young people don't need GCSEs, they need to acquire core skills & self direction. From age 14 upwards young people could build their own portfolios - IT, creative etc.

Renewal of towns & cities needs to be funded by an 'Amazon Tax' - regulation to stop tax avoidance by corporates with reinvestment in local services & plans. This single move could generate money to update local economies & create funds to improve Northern towns.

And finally to the core question - how has a grifting, opinion columnist charmed his way to Northern votes? Will he be called out? The answer is that populism has dispensed with any collective memory of the political timeline. Soundbite culture reinvents a perpetual now.

'Levelling Up' is a 'jam tomorrow, folks' operation, a never never. Austerity is in the distance past, we can forget about that. But in reality, all of your services have been cut, you pay your council tax but the level of service to cost is hollowed out. There is no money.

Johnson will fall. He will never level up. The people of the North will 'Take Back Control' from him. Labour will need a leader who connects, with policies & a locally inspired agenda. The cost of this is enormous & people in the more prosperous areas of England will have to pay.

Thank you, if you have read this far.