Looking ahead to the Levelling up White Paper

Last Thursday the Prime Minister set out his vision on how the government would deliver on its election manifesto pledge – to level up and unite the whole of the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) in Coventry, the Prime Minister set out the role for government and in particular the need to:

• Empower strong local leaders by taking a more flexible approach to devolution, with new ‘County Deals’
• Focus on growing the private sector by creating the conditions for long-term growth and productivity;
• Invest in infrastructure and connectivity;
• Ensure that people have access to good public services, and the skills and training needed to access higher paid jobs; and
• Improve the quality of life in communities through crime prevention and town and high street regeneration

But what is levelling up?

Levelling up first emerged in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto, in which it stated that the Conservative party, if elected, would be, “levelling up every part of the