Boris Johnson's government 'showing no sign of delivering on levelling-up rhetoric'

Former Treasury Minister Lord Jim O'Neill said there had been "repeated delays" by the current Government in fulfilling the promises made about bridging the gap between London and the North.

During a debate in the House of Lords, the economist asked for updates on the promised review of the 'green book' which sets the criteria for government spending and the White Paper on devolution of powers from Westminster.

He said: "The Government talks frequently and ambitiously about levelling up, and the Northern Powerhouse agenda, and has done since it was elected, and has continued to do, despite Covid-19. Yet it shows no sign of this rhetoric being backed up by deed.

"It was close to presiding over a colossal levelling down in school education attainment. It repeatedly postpones plans for a spending review in which infrastructure spending is often highlighted as being in the centre."

"Surely the ongoing consequences of this crisis suggest an even greater need for true levelling up, rather than an excuse for repeated delays."

In his time in government, Lord O'Neill worked with then-Chancellor George Osborne on developing the 'northern powerhouse agenda', to improve the economic prospects of northern England by investing in skills, innovation, transport and culture.

It comes as new analysis shows 'red wall' seats won by the Tories at the last election have seen the number of benefit claims rise more sharply than the rest of the North since the start of the pandemic.

According to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, where Lord O'Neill is vice-chairman, the workforce in many 'left-behind' northern towns have fallen on even harder times in recent months.

But the lobbying organisation says the economy in Yorkshire and the North East is turning the corner towards recovery more sharply than elsewhere.

NPP director Henri Murison said: "This goes to show that, far from being a lost cause, the North can still boast a wealth of opportunity and resilience.

"Any recovery here must be focused on devolving funding for skills to local areas, as well as unlocking patient capital and infrastructure investment."

The Conservatives won nine seats across the region in December's General Election, many in areas which had been held by Labour for decades.

Responding to Lord O'Neill, Minister Lord Agnew said that as part of his role he had made sure no break clauses for government buildings in London are allowed to run over, to "force the issue of moving staff out of London".

He said: "In addition to that, I receive monthly all the job advertisements for senior civil servants and I am continually pressing and challenging those departments who do not advertise those jobs outside London. That is improving slowly."

He said £600bn of infrastructure commitments were made in the March Budget and "a great deal of that will be going into areas which have been left behind in the past".