Why Rishi Sunak must act on this ‘levelling up’ letter – The Yorkshire Post says

None today will be as crucial as the missive from Lord Bob Kerslake, a former head of the Civil Service and one-time chief executive of Sheffield Council.

Like others, Lord Kerslake sets out why the Chancellor’s commitment to the ‘levelling up’ agenda, and a genuine desire to end decades of stagnation in disadvantaged areas demands a far more robust response than the £4bn fund announced in last month’s Spending Review (coincidentally the amount being cut from foreign aid).

But what is so frustrating, one year after the Tories won last December’s election on the back of a surge of support in so-called ‘blue wall’ seats in the North, is the absence of a coherent ‘levelling up’ plan – a glaring failing that The Yorkshire Post has repeatedly highlighted prior to Lord Kerslake’s latest intervention.

People are fed up with gesture politics – and the lottery of Whitehall handouts – which will not even begin to narrow the North-South divide and reduce decades of under-investment here by successive governments.

They want to see transformative change in towns and cities, and in schools and colleges, that is directly attributable to the Northern Powerhouse.

However their trust in the Conservatives will – regardless of the final Brexit settlement – dissipate if they see Ministers reneging upon a policy agenda which, in every respect, has become even more urgent and necessary as a consequence of Covid.

In this respect, Lord Kerslake’s experience of Whitehall, and how it works, provides the Chancellor with a timely opportunity to define ‘levelling up’, set out his expectations, detail how Ministers and officials will be accountable – and then press the ‘reset’ button.

He should not hesitate to do so.

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