It's no wonder Boris Johnson is desperate for a policy relaunch to knock “Partygate” off the front pages. But his plan to decrease Britain's regional inequality disappoints
No wonder Mr Johnson is desperate for a policy relaunch to knock “Partygate” off the front pages. On February 2nd his government released aon its big idea for post-Brexit Britain: decreasing regional inequality, or “levelling up”. Mr Johnson is right to sense that his government should be judged by whether this programme succeeds: it is setting out to deal with one of Britain’s most pressing problems. Sadly, the proposals fall short.
The work of Michael Gove, one of the government’s most capable ministers, the latest proposals identify 12 “missions”, with numerical targets attached, to be undertaken between today and 2030. They range from increasing healthy-life expectancy and improving literacy and numeracy in what the white paper calls “Britain’s forgotten communities” to rolling out high-speed broadband and encouraging “pride in place”—that is, feeling good about where you live.
Look more closely, and the plans are based on a caricature of Britain. The biggest cities voted to stay in thein 2016 and for a Labour government in 2019. Not coincidentally, ministers often talk as if the splits in wealth, well-being and esteem map onto the same pattern. They do not. In some regions, both cities and their hinterlands are rich; in others, both are poor.
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