Boris Johnson was today warned not to pit London against the North as the Government unveiled its long-awaited plans to level up the country.
With the Prime Minister under pressure over the partygate storm, ministers hope the White Paper on tackling inequality across Britain will shore up support for Mr Johnson and help the Tories hold on to the Red Wall seats they won at the 2019 general election.
But leading economist Lord O’Neill, a former Treasury minister, and Mayor Sadiq Khan said funding for the capital and the South-East should not be siphoned off to boost other regions.
London receives more public spending per person than any other area, according to Treasury figures, but has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic — with economic activity in the capital dipping more compared with the rest of the country and higher rates of unemployment.
Writing in the Standard, Lord O’Neill, said: “It’s not about giving London a smaller piece of the pie — it’s about creating a bigger pie overall, in which more people across the country can share.
“My message to the Prime Minister is this: London also needs Levelling Up — and if that makes the challenge for the rest of the country even more ambitious, all the better. We need to raise our standards everywhere.”
He added: “Instead of pitting us against each other, allocate funding based on need and devolve spending to our local leaders. They are the ones who can tailor policies to fit specific local needs: let’s trust them to get on with the job.”
Mr Khan said the Government needed to “recognise that levelling up the UK must not be about levelling down London and withholding the funding and investment our capital city desperately needs”.
He added: “London has some of the most deprived communities in the country and they deserve support and funding just as much as other parts of the UK.”
The White Paper to transform “Britain’s forgotten communities” sets out 12 missions underpinned by a new Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which will aim to spread opportunity more evenly by 2030. It includes plans to:
Regenerate 20 towns and cities with Wolverhampton and Sheffield the first to be chosen.
Roll out the “largest devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times” offering more areas the chance to elect mayors and have “London-style” devolution deals.
Close the gap in healthy life expectancy between different parts of the UK with the aim of raising life expectancy by five years by 2035.
Deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband and 4G coverage with 5G coverage for most of the population.
Many of the new targets are specifically focused on areas outside London and the South-East. The Department of Business will refocus research and development spending outside London — part of a push to increase public investment in R&D outside the greater South-East by at least 40 per cent.
New money for the arts will be 100 per cent focused on areas outside London while new investment in housing and education will predominantly be targeted at the rest of the country.
Three new innovation centres will be set up in Greater Manchester, Glasgow and the West Midlands.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the priority was to level up across the country. He told Sky News: “There’s inequality in London and you are absolutely right, Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham, they need support as well and the Government is working with the Mayor of London to do that. But one of the big problems in this country is the geographical inequality.
“At the moment we are relying on the jet propulsion from London and the South-East. It’s great that in London we have an amazing global city. It’s great that the South-East and East of England have so many productive companies.
“But the rest of the UK is not firing as energetically as it should economically. That’s denying people in the North and the Midlands the opportunities they need.” He rejected claims that today’s policy announcement contained no new money as “bogus”.
