How hypocritical peer Lord Moylan’s jibe about Yorkshire and ‘leftist whingers’ exposed Boris Johnson over levelling up – The Yorkshire Post says

AS Boris Johnson continues his ‘levelling up’ tour of the North, he will discover that Yorkshire has not morphed “into a county of leftist whingers begging for handouts” – the preposterous claim made by his ally Lord Moylan.
By YP Comment
Published 14th Feb 2022, 16:39 BST
Tory peer Daniel Moylan is a longstanding ally of Boris Johnson.Tory peer Daniel Moylan is a longstanding ally of Boris Johnson.
Tory peer Daniel Moylan is a longstanding ally of Boris Johnson.

Elevated to the House of Lords by the Prime Minister, Daniel Moylan was deputy chairman of Transport for London when Mr Johnson was mayor of the capital. He was the advocate of the ‘Boris Island’ airport in the Thames Estuary and was put in charge of Crossrail 2 – a new north-south rail link.

A Valentine’s Day love letter to Lord Moylan

And the hostile tone of Lord Moylan’s reaction to The Yorkshire Post’s front page report on Saturday, citing research by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership on how the flagship levelling up policy risks penalising countryside areas, confirms the growing scale of the disconnect that now exists between the London Government and the regions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Mayor of London Boris Johnson (standing) is joined by (from the left) Daniel Moylan, Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation John Burton, Director of Development Westfield, Peter Redfern, CEO Taylor Wimpey and Stuart Corbyn Chairman of Qatari Diar Delancey East Village, during a press conference in Westminster, London, to discuss the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics.Mayor of London Boris Johnson (standing) is joined by (from the left) Daniel Moylan, Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation John Burton, Director of Development Westfield, Peter Redfern, CEO Taylor Wimpey and Stuart Corbyn Chairman of Qatari Diar Delancey East Village, during a press conference in Westminster, London, to discuss the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson (standing) is joined by (from the left) Daniel Moylan, Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation John Burton, Director of Development Westfield, Peter Redfern, CEO Taylor Wimpey and Stuart Corbyn Chairman of Qatari Diar Delancey East Village, during a press conference in Westminster, London, to discuss the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics.

This region is not “begging for handouts” – the central tenet of the Power Up The North campaign, and which Mr Johnson endorsed when running for the Tory leadership in 2019, remains a fairer distribution of funds for better infrastructure like Northern Powerhouse Rail, the now defunct Crossrail of the North.

However it does seek equality of opportunity – the national skills gap remains pronounced because the North’s schools have not received the unprecedented investment made available to the capital, and councils like Kensington and Chelsea where the then Councillor Moylan served, via the London Challenge.

And while Yorkshire is a plain-speaking county, its people do still expect the highest standards of integrity from its prime ministers. On all three tests, Mr Johnson has misplaced the trust placed in him by voters in December 2019 – and this view is now further reaffirmed by a sneering peer whose one attempt to win election to the House of Commons ended in defeat.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app, receive exclusive members-only offers and access to all premium content and columns. Click here to subscribe.

Related topics:Boris JohnsonYorkshireYorkshire PostNorthPrime Minister

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.