Praising Johnson is Labour ploy to lure fed up Tory voters

Labour wants a levelling up renaissance, but the devil will be in the detail

Labour kicked off its local election campaign by praising the man it helped to bury. Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner praised Boris Johnson’s vision of levelling up and accused Rishi Sunak of killing off the flagship policy.

I get why they are doing this. It’s tres fashionable right now for senior Labour figures to find some way of praising bygone Tory leaders (although let’s not hold our breath for admiration about Liz Truss’s “bravery” – they may be cynical but they aren’t mad).

It generates easy coverage in right-wing papers and is the equivalent of political clickbait. We have had Thatcher praised by Starmer and, more recently, David Lammy. Now Johnson. This is a bid to appear not to be madly tribal and of course to coax fed up former Tory voters over to the red team.

But I would urge some caution. Levelling up was indeed another brilliant, snappy, exciting slogan which Johnson and his team were brilliant at conjuring up. How I wish they had become ad men instead of wrecking the country. But just like “get Brexit done” and the nonsense on the bus about the NHS, “levelling up” was just a hollow slogan which had no substance.

Look at the cuts local authorities have faced which have contributed to many of them teetering on the brink of collapse. Look at the joke which is our transport infrastructure, captured by the HS2 fiasco. And look at how instead

Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ pledge was little more than a hollow slogan of there being a big, long-term strategy for the regions, levelling up amounted to small pots of money being up for grabs. Like so many of Johnson’s big promises, this wasn’t worth the paper it was scribbled on.

Labour is committed to a levelling up renaissance. That’s all very noble but the devil will be in the detail and, of course, the money. Starmer made clear – as Rachel Reeves has done – that a new Labour government is not going to ride to the rescue of councils on the brink of bankruptcy.

Again, we understand the need for rigorous fiscal discipline but that will provide little comfort to local councillors struggling to do more with less – and, more importantly, to furious local families and residents whose local services and facilities have been cut to the bone.

But there are things a future Labour government can do. Showing some genuine commitment and leadership in this area – and actually showing up – would be a start.

As would having regular face to face meetings with not just mayors and local council leaders but also key figures in the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Having someone leading this work who actually wants to lead, who cares and shows respect for these players, would go a long way.

Making good on the promise to level up is a good thing. But Labour has to be honest about how great the challenges are – especially when there’s not a lot of money.

There are big opportunities as well, but there are no quick wins on this agenda. It’s hard graft. We need to be honest, levelling up is a slog, not a slogan – but the rewards will be worth it.