Northerners losing faith in ‘levelling up’ agenda

Just one in five people in the Midlands and the North think the government is doing enough to ‘level up’, according to a new survey.

The survey by the campaign group HS2 East found just 20% of people in those regions believe the government is doing enough to honour its ‘levelling up’ promises.

It also revealed concerns about the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 and the associated strain it has put on public finances.

Almost two thirds (59%) of the people surveyed were worried the pandemic would widen social and economic inequalities, while just under half (47%) of those questioned thought it may stop Government investing in infrastructure, welfare and affordable housing.

Seven out of ten people also thought that the short-term pressures of COVID-19 had shifted focus away from climate change and stalled efforts to decarbonise.

It comes as leaders from across the East Midlands and North call for government to commit to delivering the eastern leg of HS2 railway line.

A recent report showed that communities surrounding the eastern leg suffered from lower productivity, received a lower transport spend and were home to a greater number of social mobility cold spots than their counterparts on HS2’s western leg, as well as compared to the UK average.

In September, a report by Centre for Cities in partnership with Legal & General warned government ‘levelling up’ plans were too Whitehall-centric and there was a ‘lack of political direction’.

‘It is clear that the public is concerned about the longer-term effects of COVID-19, and the impact it will have on communities like Broxtowe that have historically been underfunded,’ said the chairman of the Midlands Engine All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), Darren Henry.

‘Now is the time for the government to restore public confidence in levelling up by committing to the eastern leg of HS2.

‘In the East Midlands, the new hub station at Toton will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs, is sparking a huge improvement in local transport links and will establish the region as a centre for innovation and renewable energy generation. It will provide green, carbon-neutral travel for the next century. It must go ahead, as the prime minister and numerous other cabinet ministers have repeatedly promised.’

Photo Credit – TimHill (Pixabay)