Levelling Up is nothing more than slogan if it’s going to be used for electioneering - The Yorkshire Post says

The Tories snatched away previously safe Labour seats across Yorkshire as communities bought into the idea of the Government giving them the powers and funding to realise their true potential.

For all the talk of there being no money, it is clear that when the fortunes of the Tory Party at the ballot box are at stake, the Government is able to find some down the back of the Treasury’s sofa.

Levelling up wasn’t meant to be a vehicle for dishing out bribes ahead of elections. It is pork barrel politics at its worst.

The fact that the Tories seem to think that they can throw scraps at left behind communities just before an election and win over voters is frankly an insult.

This approach besmirches the principles of Levelling Up. The agenda was to bridge regional inequality and transform the lives of people who have too often been deprived of opportunities.

If this is how the Government views Levelling Up then the policy is nothing but a campaign slogan. And Yorkshire has had enough of slogans, whether it be Northern Powerhouse, Build Back Better or Levelling Up.

Where is the truly transformative investment? Why has Northern Powerhouse Rail been shelved? Why has HS2 been downgraded?

Where is the funding for local authorities that have been brought to their knees by 13 years of austerity? This cynical attempt to use levelling up funds in key battleground seats will not be a surprise to the majority of people and is simply the mask slipping. After all, last summer the Prime Minister boasted about how he diverted money from deprived areas to wealthier parts of the country as Chancellor.