PM BRUSHES TO FOCUS ON OFF PETTY SQUABBLES LEVELLING UP BRITAIN
BORIS Johnson is determined his planned levelling up of former Labour “red wall” seats will not be derailed by the growing row with Dominic Cummings.
Senior government sources last night said the Prime Minister is focused on “simply getting on with the job” and “building back better after the pandemic”.
They said he has written to all his Cabinet ministers ordering them to come up with “ambitious plans” to bring economic prosperity to the former Labour seats which voted Conservative in the 2017 and 2019 elections.
This “levelling up agenda” will be set out in a White Paper later this year, but Mr Johnson has made it clear nothing must stop it from becoming a reality, rather than just an ambition.
It comes after a week of tit-for-tat revelations ended with Mr Cummings launching an astonishing attack on his former boss in his blog on Friday.
The former Downing Street adviser has implied he plans to tell all in a health committee hearing on May 26.
He fired another volley at the Prime Minister yesterday by suggesting the Government had failed to close its borders early enough during the pandemic.
Mr Cummings tweeted this was a “very important issue re. learning from the disaster”, responding to a thread pointing out that Vietnam had successfully insulated itself from the growing pandemic. It barred visitors to the country the day before the UK went into lockdown last March.
However, a senior government source last night said: “The PM is simply getting on with his job as everyone would expect, working hard to make sure that the vaccine rollout continues so successfully, and that we can build back better from this pandemic.”
The Levelling Up White Paper will set out how bold new policy interventions will improve livelihoods across the country, as it recovers from the pandemic, and its effects on the economy and public services.
Levelling up was at the centre of the 2019 election manifesto and despite the challenges of Covid-19 remains core to the Government’s vision, Downing Street sources have emphasised.
The White Paper – which will be driven by the Prime Minister – will focus on challenges including improving living standards, growing the private sector and increasing and spreading opportunity.
It aims to build on the remarkable successes of Conservative regional mayors Andy Street in the West Midlands and Ben Houchen in Teesside, who in just four years have transformed their communities.
Mr Street said: “People have seen Conservative MPS, councillors and mayors deliver for their communities whereas Labour took it for granted for too long. “That is why in what was a traditional Labour heartland we’ve been able to make vast progress.”
The White Paper will accompany work to repair the damage caused to public services by the pandemic, with backlogs in hospitals and courts prioritised alongside school catch-ups and jobs.
In his letter Mr Johnson has asked ministers and their officials to develop the most ambitious possible set of policy proposals for consideration.
He wants to concentrate on a range of areas such as public spending, tax policy, devolution, inward investment, industrial policy, manufacturing and growth and regeneration.
Ministers and officials have been asked to submit detailed policy commissions which learn the lessons from past efforts by previous governments, both here and around the world, that have failed to tackle underperformance.
The Prime Minister will personally hold challenge sessions with each of his Cabinet ministers to
make sure that the ideas generated will be sufficiently creative and radical to meet the issues we face in recovering from the pandemic.
Mr Johnson is expected to outline his approach in a major speech when the White Paper is published in the early autumn.
Neil O’brien has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Levelling Up Adviser.
The MP for Harborough said: “Levelling up has been a real passion of mine for many years and I’m incredibly excited by the Prime Minister’s agenda.
“After a challenging year, there has never been a better time to unite and level up the country. It’s crucial we bring opportunity to every single part of the UK by making sure our spending, tax, investment and regeneration priorities bring about meaningful change.”
A Number 10 source said: “As we recover from the pandemic, it’s crucial that as a government we challenge ourselves to be bolder, more ambitious and more creative when tackling inequalities across the country.
“The Prime Minister wholeheartedly believes that every part of the UK deserves to benefit from the same economic opportunities, life chances and access to first class public services.
“As such, ministers and officials across the whole ofwhitehall have been tasked with prioritising the upcomingwhite Paper.”
‘Never been a better time’