Government recommits to levelling up as Gove brought back to cabinet

The new Prime Minister during his first speech in the job outside Downing Street said that he was bringing his party back to the manifesto which it stood on in 2019, rather than the new direction pursued under Liz Truss.

Thanking Boris Johnson for his “incredible achievements” as prime minister, Mr Sunak said that he felt that the mandate won by the former party leader was not “the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.”

“And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto, he said. “I will deliver on its promise.”

Specifically mentioning levelling up as a key manifesto commitment, he warned that there will be “difficult decisions to come” due to the state of the economy.

Early yesterday evening it was confirmed that Michael Gove, the former-levelling up secretary who spearheaded the reforms under Boris Johnson, would be returning to his post after Simon Clarke, a vocal supporter of Liz Truss, was sacked from the cabinet.

This, combined with a return to the 2019 manifesto, suggests that many of the policies under Mr Johnson, many of the projects which were set to be scaled back under Ms Truss, could be set to be followed through.

Key amongst these is Northern Powerhouse Rail, which Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, suggested last week was not off the table in the search for budget cuts.

However, the Tories’ manifesto clearly committed the Conservatives to an “infrastructure revolution” that would deliver the plans and “so many more projects”.

The appointment of Mr Gove could also see the reversal of several of his predecessor’s policies, such as plans to ditch 20 regeneration projects of town and city centres which was revealed by The Yorkshire Post this week.

The future of investment zones, one of the only remaining elements of Liz Truss’ growth plan, championed both by her and Simon Clarke, is also in doubt.

Mr Sunak’s comments also raise fresh hopes that the moratorium on fracking, which was voted to be overturned by Liz Truss only last week, could be reinstated due to its place in the Tories’ winning 2019 manifesto.

"We placed a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect,” the manifesto said.

“Having listened to local communities, we have ruled out changes to the planning system. We will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely."

Last month a government-commissioned report into the safety of seismic activity from fracking concluded that the issue around still presented a “scientific challenge”.

Yesterday also saw the resignation of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary who was one of the most enthusiastic proponents of fracking, having drawn up plans for how it would operate by gaining local consent from residents in exchange for money.

However, Mr Sunak, while on the campaign trail over the summer, told hustings that he shared Liz Truss’ view that fracking could be allowed to go ahead if local consent could be obtained, with parliamentary records showing that he voted not to reintroduce the pan on fracking in last week’s vote in the Commons.