Tories Accused As Zero Progress On Half Of Levelling Up Goals Laid Bare

The Conservatives have been accused of failing to live up to their ambitious agenda for Britain’s regions as Guardian analysis shows no progress on half of their levelling up targets.

- Kiran Stacey, Josh Halliday

The study of the 12 targets set by Michael Gove in his 2022 levelling up white paper reveals no progress in six , including three where evidence suggests things have got worse.

These include education, skills and wellbeing – which have stagnated – and local pride, housing and health, which have deteriorated in the last two years.

The findings are further evidence of how far ministers have fallen short of the lofty goals set out by Boris Johnson earlier this parliament, when he promised to raise living standards and close Britain’s yawning regional equality gap.

Labour is seeking to put that failure at the heart of its local election campaign, with Keir Starmer accusing the government of having “strangled levelling up at birth”.

The Guardian analysis is the first in a series looking at how the Conservatives’ high-profile post-Brexit growth programme was derailed by a mix of political turmoil, pork barrel politics and Whitehall interference.

Jack Shaw, a fellow at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy , said: “Despite the government’s rhetoric, this data shows that it’s failing to turn the tide on regional inequalities.

“For too many families, that means living unhealthier lives with inadequate access to transport infrastructure and employment.”

Michael Heseltine, the former cabinet minister and long-time champion of regional development, warned that some of the levelling up funds appeared to have been used as political tools to win votes in certain seats in the north.