Government urged to 'move at pace' to outline levelling up agenda following White Paper delay

Front row left to right Mayor West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of South Yorkshire Dan Jarvis, outside Leeds Railway Station, following a meeting of the Transport for the North Board at the Queens Hotel in Leeds, in November 2021

The Levelling Up White Paper is now due to be published in January, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday, having originally been expected this Autumn,

Until very recently, it was promised that the document would arrive before Parliament rises for its Christmas break at the end of next week, but that will not not happen.

Mayor of South Yorkshire and Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis said the news is “just more delay from the government on what is supposed to be their flagship policy” and called on them to come forward with “credible” ideas for how the manifesto promise can be realised across the regions.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “Leaders across the north are eagerly waiting to find out what’s in the Levelling Up White Paper.

“The Government need to move at pace and with a sense of real purpose because so far, we’ve not seen a single credible idea for effectively reducing regional inequality.

“Let’s not forget we waited month and months to see the Integrated Rail Plan and in the end that proved to be a massive disappointment.

“I don’t want this to go the same way.”

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Lobbying group, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership have said that mayors and regional figures are vital in ensuring that Levelling Up is achieved, but welcomed the Government and

Ministers taking time to get the White Paper right, if it means the outcome will be “bold and ambitious.

Director Henri Murison said: “Michael Gove was clear with our Board when meeting them in his first few days in the job how ambitious he intended to be. Iit is vital, as we highlighted this week, for our towns and cities that we match the work of industrialists creating jobs with investment in education, skills, connectivity and innovation. In the case of South Yorkshire, we need to build an innovation deal focused on advanced manufacturing to build on the success of the University of Sheffield and Harworth Group delivering the Advanced Manufacturing Park.

“None of this can be done from Whitehall, which is why as well as more powers for Mayors like Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire we need more deals, covering North Yorkshire and the North Bank of Humber with genuine ambition – not just the current local government powers and leadership structures.”

The news comes after weekend reports that Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove is considering introducing American style Governors in rural areas which do not have mayors.

A new blueprint for levelling up, published on Monday by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, called on the Government to treat towns and cities across Yorkshire and the North as economic partners, rather than competitors. It said there has been an ongoing misapprehension that the success of city centres like Manchester and Leeds has led to decline in nearby towns.

“The reality is that the challenges of some towns of the North, particularly in many post-industrial areas, would have been much more acute without the regeneration of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. The vitality of places like Stockport, Guiseley and Gateshead is due to their shared success with their near neighbours.”