Lisa Nandy sets out five outcomes comes the Government's Levelling Up plan must deliver
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Lisa Nandy MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
will today set out five outcomes which the Government’s Levelling
Up plan must deliver in order to “truly change the settlement of
our country back in favour of those who built it.” Nandy, making
her first pledge in her new role, says that for too long “the
places that used to power our country have only got the crumbs from
the table. That has created huge inequalities which Labour will
focus on...Request free trial
Lisa Nandy MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, will today set out five outcomes which the Government’s Levelling Up plan must deliver in order to “truly change the settlement of our country back in favour of those who built it.” Nandy, making her first pledge in her new role, says that for too long “the places that used to power our country have only got the crumbs from the table. That has created huge inequalities which Labour will focus on fixing.” It comes as new research from Labour reveals the scale of the Conservatives’ hollow promises, with areas allocated money under the Towns Fund and Levelling Up Fund still millions of pounds worse off since 2010. Labour analysis of new House of Commons Library data shows that virtually every area of England has received less in funding on average since 2018 than they received from regional development funds, such as the Towns Fund. 144 local authority areas were still worse off by £50 million on average, even after receiving Levelling Up funding. Nandy says for levelling up to “truly deliver on this promise, the Government must meet the ambitions people have for our own communities”. Specifically, this means:
This comes after Labour Leader Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy visited Grimsby this week to see how the renewables industry is providing secure, well paid jobs for local people, as Nandy set out plans to ensure young people don't have to "get out to get on”. Nandy also highlights the decade of low growth under the Conservatives, accusing them of being “the party of low growth and high taxes” and holding Britain back. Between 1997 and 2010, when Labour were in government, the UK economy grew at 2.3 per cent a year. Over the decade leading up to the pandemic it grew by an average of 1.8 per cent a year. The Bank of England expects growth to fall to as low as 1 per cent by the end of this Parliament, while other countries in the OECD are expected to grow at almost twice that rate. Lisa Nandy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “For all the talk of levelling up, we have been completely shortchanged. The Prime Minister has handed us a fiver, but nicked a tenner. Instead of delivering good jobs in every part of Britain, the Prime Minister is hopelessly distracted trying to save his own. “This must end now. It simply will not be good enough to give us more of the same –pots of our money to scrap over – without real power on what it’s spent on or a few new mayors. We need to change the settlement of our country back in favour of those who built it. That means growing our economy by ensuring jobs and prosperity are spread fairly across the country so you don’t have to move hundreds of miles away just to get on. “Labour will invest to create new jobs and apprenticeships in our coastal and industrial towns and take decisive action to support local businesses to thrive. We will freeze business rates and deliver ambitious plans to make, buy and sell in Britain, providing funding for 100,000 new start up businesses to grow our economies and sustain our high streets. “The next Labour government will be the government that delivers for the places that built our country. A plan for a new Britain that matches the ambitions of the people in it.” ENDS Notes to Editors Labour analysis shows that areas allocated money under the Towns Fund and Levelling Up Fund still millions of pounds worse off with money snatched from their local communities in Conservative cuts since 2010. These patterns are prevalent across the country:
Labour has analysed Local Authority level data supplied by the House of Commons library for annual Settlement Funding since 2019 (adjusted for real terms), and all allocations to date from the Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, and Community Renewal Fund.
On average, 144 local authority areas were around £50 million worse off after receiving Levelling Up funding. Areas which have lost out include:
The Conservatives have cut local authority budgets by an estimated £15 billion overall since they came to power in 2010. |