Owning the ‘levelling-up’ agenda

To date ‘levelling-up' has been a very successful slogan. As was the Northern Powerhouse before it. But what does it mean, can and should Labour reclaim it, and does it have a shelf-life?

Earlier this year Georgina Bailey, Policy Editor at The House looked at how No 10 could move ‘levelling up’ from rhetoric to real life. What she found when asking people what levelling up means to them, was as you would imagine different people prioritise different areas. 

Will Jennings, co-director of Centre for Towns, said “there is actually no single source of ideological thinking or intellectual thinking about what it stands for … Levelling up is a reflection of, for me, an understanding among policymakers that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.” 

The Government tried to rectify this issue by introducing the Levelling Up Fund last month, which is a pot of money that applies to the whole of the UK but is specifically intended to support investment in ‘left behind’ places.

‘Left behind’ places are categorised by the Government as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns, and coastal communities that need to be 'levelled up'.

The Government had its method to determine which areas were prioritised under the levelling-up fund. Labour accused Conservatives of favouring constituencies held by ministers rather than more deprived areas. 

Last summer Local Trust and Oxford Centre for Social Inclusion (OCSI) developed a quantitative measure of left-behind areas using open data, including developing a Community Needs Index (CNI). 

The CNI focuses on the social and cultural factors that can contribute to poorer life outcomes in communities. This gives a different perspective to more economically based measures.

The OCSI research was used to launch an APPG on Left Behind Neighbourhoods that will further investigate the underlying issues in these places.

Although the APPG is cross-Party, it is Conservatives who continue to own the ‘levelling-up’ agenda. 

APPG member and Conservative MP for Rother Valley Alexander Stafford said: “I was elected on the basis of the Prime Minister's pledge to level up the country, and I am utterly committed to doing so by bringing much-needed jobs and investment to Rother Valley.”

Mr Stafford also helped to launch the Levelling Up Taskforce. In partnership with the influential thinktank Onward, they are urging the Government to set itself three key tests as part of its drive to reduce geographical inequality. 

The Conservative government secured victory at the 2019 general election by turning the red wall blue. The Government need to repay those who voted Conservative in 2019 to ensure future electoral success. They see 'levelling-up' as the vehicle to do that.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said, "the Tories talk a good game... but their record of turning their backs on the North speaks for itself."

I would suggest that ‘Levelling-up’ will remain popular with the Government until it stops being a useful electioneering tactic, which does not look to be anytime soon. Therefore, would it be prudent for the Labour Party to reshape and own this agenda rather than dismissing it right off the bat? 

If Labour can own the language and define what it is, they can then hold this Government to account, and with it, the authority to confirm or deny Conservative MPs in red wall seats the ability to claim all the credit come election time.

Anna Wrigglesworth
Lexington Communications