Governments need to settle differences

IT IS worrying, but not surprising, that the Industrial Communities Alliance has seriously questioned whether the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund will deliver what its name suggests.

In Wales, six local authorities have been successful in their applications for grants, but we know that the amount of money available is far less than would have come from the EU if the UK had remained a member state.

That in itself is a cause for concern to us, especially as the UK Government has sought to justify its lack of generosity to Wales by asserting that our country is receiving more than it would have done if the usual Barnett formula rules had applied.

This really is a shocking case of seeking to confuse voters by comparing apples and pears.

The Barnett formula, which is population-based and delivers around 5% of Treasury expenditure on devolved policy areas to Wales, was never used to determine the extent of EU regional aid.

The West Wales and the Valleys region received top-level funding because it is one of the poorest regions in Europe.

But this is not an issue that the authors of the Industrial Communities Alliance report have focused on.

Instead, they have concentrated on the nature of the projects approved.

The main conclusion is that while each of the projects may have merit in themselves, it is perhaps unlikely that they will deliver greater prosperity.

The promise of “levelling up” may have proved a successful political slogan in places that felt neglected, but creating equality between regions in the UK is an incredibly tall order.

Inner London is the most prosperous region in Europe, while parts of Wales are near the bottom of the league table.

Everyone wants to see improvements, but even if the will was there to create genuine geographical equality – and that’s subject to heavy debate – it would be a long, hard slog, and would take a lot more than a few local community schemes.

A good first step would be for the UK and Welsh governments to settle their differences and agree to work together on a constructive plan aimed at improving prosperity in Wales.

The continuing mutual hostility between the two administrations is alienating most people and should end forthwith.