Report sets out scale of challenge to deliver levelling up

The ‘Plan for the North’ report details the practical steps required to enable the North of England to reach its full potential, backed by over forty councils and regional mayors.

Professor Steve Fothergill and Dr Tony Gore from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University were commissioned by a group of council leaders, MPs and mayors in South Yorkshire to conduct independent research into levelling up the North.

They found that there is a major gap between the aspiration and delivery of the levelling up agenda and set out the long-term challenges faced by the North to match prosperity levels of London and the South.

The Council Leaders highlighted that levelling up the North will require a coherent long-term plan with measurable goals and a locally adapted strategy, and more local powers as well as funding, with an emphasis on investment in infrastructure.

Professor Steve Fothergill said: ‘There is clear evidence that the North’s economy is capable of reinvention but too many places continue to struggle with high levels of deprivation and worklessness, and the prosperity gap with London and the South is as wide as ever. 

‘Despite the high political profile of levelling up, there is little if any new money on the table and a big worry that what is available will be spread too thinly across the whole country.  As Plan for the North explains, delivering genuine levelling up requires sustained action on a broad front.’

The report noted that local knowledge and leadership will be crucial to the success of the levelling up agenda, with reliable funding needed to make critical improvements in the rail network, as well as support for business, education, skills and public services.

South Yorkshire Mayor and Barnsley Central MP, Dan Jarvis MBE, said: ‘If you live in Barnsley, you’re much more likely to be hungrier, poorer and sicker than someone living in Belgravia. This deep-seated inequality is a moral disgrace, and it’s holding the whole of our country back.

‘The question of how we tackle this inequality – and unlock the North’s enormous economic and social potential – sits right at the heart of the debate around what levelling up should look like in practice. Our Northern communities need a coherent plan; the investment to underpin it; and the local leadership to make it work on the ground. The Plan for the North is a step towards realising that ambition.’

The report has been sent to the PM, after widespread support from across the region.

In related news, new research warns that the government’s roadmap for withdrawing Covid-19 support will come as a blow to the levelling up agenda, affecting people in the North and Midlands disproportionately.

Photo by Harrison Qi