Exclusive:James Cleverly says levelling up should be about cutting red tape and not ‘subsidies and government spending’

Levelling up should be more about reducing red tape and less about “subsidies and government spending” as it was under Boris Johnson, James Cleverly has said.

The Tory leadership contender spoke to the Yorkshire Post after his speech at the Conservative Party Conference yesterday, which has propelled him up amongst the frontrunners to replace Rishi Sunak.

The former Home Secretary received the biggest standing ovation of all four candidates, who gave speeches to close out the conference in Birmingham.

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Neither Mr Cleverly or his rivals mentioned the levelling up agenda, which was key to Boris Johnson’s election victory in 2019, as an achievement or a priority going forward.

However, afterwards Mr Cleverly told this paper that it remains “absolutely key”.

Conservative Party leadership candidate James Cleverly went down a storm in the room.Conservative Party leadership candidate James Cleverly went down a storm in the room.
Conservative Party leadership candidate James Cleverly went down a storm in the room. | Jacob King/PA Wire

“I think in hindsight the way we did it previously, which was more to do with subsidies and government spending, was effective but you can only go so far,” he said.

Mr Johnson’s levelling up funds saw more than £1 billion get allocated to Yorkshire and the Humber, however there was criticism of the competitive bidding process between local authorities.

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Mr Cleverly says that if he is announced as Mr Sunak’s replacement on 2 November then he would propose allowing parts of Yorkshire to cut red tape at a local level.

“To really unlock the potential you need to reduce and remove some of the barriers to growth,” he said.

“Reduce the tax, reduce the red tape, unlock the entrepreneurial spirit right across the country.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben HouchenTees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen

“That’s as true in the urban areas in Yorkshire and the rural areas as well.

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“I think if we can do that, what we can see is every part of the country really growing and not all trying to be the same.”

The regeneration scheme, which covers the former Redcar steelworks site, was initially a 50-50 joint venture between public body South Tees Development Corporation and two local businessmen, Chris Musgrave and Martin Corney.

A transfer of shares in November 2021 saw the businessmen take control of 90 per cent of Teesworks Ltd, the company vehicle for the scheme, which was supported by Mayor Ben Houchen.

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More than £500 million of taxpayers’ money has been spent, with Mr Musgrave and Mr Corney extracting at least £120m via dividends and other payments.

Conservative Party leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat delivers a speech during the Conservative Party Conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.Conservative Party leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat delivers a speech during the Conservative Party Conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat delivers a speech during the Conservative Party Conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. | Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

A government review, published in January, found “no evidence of illegality”, but made 28 recommendations for improvements in governance and transparency.

Lord Houchen is in the process of submitting a formal response to the review.

The Tees Valley Mayor, the most senior Tory in government in the country, has not yet declared who he will back in the leadership contest.

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All four candidates have been courting his support, with Tom Tugendhat praising Lord Houchen in his speech.

He said he has turned the Redcar steelworks from a “derelict ruin to the ground zero of growth in the North East”.

Mr Tugendhat added that he had focused on “delivery, not ideology”.

However that was the only reference to the North and the levelling up agenda in any of the four candidates speeches.

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Henri Murison, the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “Levelling up was a pale imitation of the Northern Powerhouse, and whatever its limitations in ambition it largely failed to deliver. The great achievement arising consistently from both was devolution.

“I don’t think I’d want a party to promise a policy they failed to deliver on in their own terms.”

Mr Murison said it was “welcome though that some of the contenders, including Tom Tugendhadt, referenced the case for better rail links to major northern cities”.

“Following the damage done by Rishi Sunak’s HS2 announcement at the Conservative Party’s Conference in Manchester this time last year, it is never too early for any prospective leader to start work on repairing the party’s reputation up North,” he added.

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