Northern politicians call for levelling up to be more than a slogan

After North West councils missed out on more than £500m of government cash last week, leaders from across the region are lobbying Whitehall to do away with the short-term, piecemeal approach to its flagship policy and “hard wire” levelling up into law to tackle entrenched regional equalities. 

Politicians from both sides of the Pennines and beyond will come together today at the Convention of the North in Manchester to call for a shake-up to the way the government goes about levelling up. 

“The Levelling Up Fund announcement last week laid bare the issues with these short-term competitive funding pots,” said Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester. 

“We end up with winners and losers but nobody is able to actually plan for long-term investment in their areas.  Hard-wiring levelling up into UK law would move us away from policy by press release and start to tackle the unequal living standards we have in our country.” 

Instead of being asked to bid for limited pots of money for individual projects, Northern leaders want to see their areas given more money and more control over how it is spent. 

This, Burnham said, would help to close the gaps between the North and London and the South East and “lead to improvements in everything from incomes to skills, to ultimately boosting life expectancy”. 

“This would of course be good for people in the North, but would also help grow the UK economy as a whole,” Burnham added. 

The plan to hard-wire levelling up into UK law takes inspiration from Germany, which is often used as an example of how regional devolution can work. 

“Regional structural policy has long been a cornerstone of German politics,” said Carsten Schneider, the Minister for East Germany.

“The goal of creating equal living conditions everywhere in Germany can even be found in our constitution. There are good reasons for it. If regions are drifting apart, it is bad for everyone, including for the growing regions. If a variety of regions flourish, the whole country will prosper.” 

Andy Burnham is leading the call for levelling up to be enshrined in law. Credit: PNW

Research by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has highlighted several ways in which the North is currently lagging behind London and the South East.

For example, raising female healthy life expectancy to the level of the South East would increase it by 3.5 years in the North West, 3.8 years in Yorkshire and the Humber, and 6.2 years in the North East.

Raising Male healthy life expectancy to the level of the South East would increase it by four years in the North West, 4.4 years in Yorkshire and the Humber, and 6.4 years in the North East.

It is hoped a more holistic and long-term approach to levelling up will bring about a host of improvements to the lives of Northern residents and unlock the economic potential of the region.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and co-chair of Convention of the North, said: “Across the North, we still too often face disparities of wealth, health and opportunity that could be redressed through a long-term approach to investment and infrastructure. 

“Cities such as Manchester have a clear understanding of where investment is needed to generate growth that benefits everyone, and we are best placed to be able to deliver.” 

Levelling up was the flagship policy in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto with Boris Johnson vowing to redress economic imbalances across the country and provide funding to bridge the gap between prosperous areas and those in need of investment and regeneration. 

However, since then, leaders across the UK have bemoaned a lack of real progress and accused the Conservatives of failing to commit to the policy. 

By way of rebuttal, Whitehall points to the £3.8bn it has distributed from the policy’s designated fund since 2021. 

Craig added: “For Levelling Up to be a coherent and effective policy, rather than a mere slogan, it needs to move away from being a competitive bidding process – with the rationale for decisions unclear – to a consistent, long-term approach which directs more funding to the areas which need it most and gives them control over how they best to use it.” 

Craig said levelling up needs to become more than just a slogan. Credit: MCC Credit: Place North West

Manchester was among the places overlooked when the most recent round of Levelling Up Fund awards was announced last week. 

In Liverpool City Region, Liverpool and Sefton missed out on a combined £70m. 

“For every minute on the roughly two-hour train journey from the Liverpool City Region to London, household income per head falls by £155,” said the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram. 

“That’s a gap we’ll never be able to close unless Westminster gets over its obsession with competitive beauty contests that pit areas against each other for short-term pots of funding.  

He added: “Proper levelling up should be more about tackling entrenched inequalities than vanity projects and photo ops at shiny buildings. 

“We all know how governments of all stripes can struggle with long-term thinking. That is why we need this to be a legal requirement. Only then will we begin to close the yawning chasm between North and South, and enable our residents to reach their full potential.”