Northern voters want levelling up over tax cuts, research suggests

Voters still want to see their areas levelled up to “make life manageable”, new research has shown.

Focus groups conducted by the Fabian Society think tank found that areas across Yorkshire and the North want to see more funding, amid fears that last month’s mini-budget could further alienate people from the Conservatives.

Separate polling released on Saturday evening found that 71 per cent of Tory 2019 voters thought the Government had lost control of the economy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The research, done as part of the Fabians’ Commission on Poverty and Regional Inequality, looked at attitudes towards the North-South divide, and whether voters thought enough was being done to address it.

It has been reported that Therese Coffey, the Health Secretary will scrap the Government's white paper on health inequalitiesIt has been reported that Therese Coffey, the Health Secretary will scrap the Government's white paper on health inequalities
It has been reported that Therese Coffey, the Health Secretary will scrap the Government's white paper on health inequalities

“There’s no jobs, there’s no incentives, there’s no training, there’s nothing out there support wise … there’s nothing, it [the local area] just seems to be behind the time if that makes sense,” said one participant from County Durham.

“Compared with other parts of the United Kingdom … South Yorkshire where I hail from, it’s not getting the same fair share of the cake as particularly London has,” one South Yorkshire resident told researchers.

Ben Cooper, senior researcher at the Fabian Society, told The Yorkshire Post: "With the recent budget, it is clear Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have decided to move away from levelling up. In doing so, they are abandoning vast swathes of voters in Yorkshire and the North who thought they had been promised change.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"These voters don’t care about bankers’ bonuses, they care about buses, childcare and things that make life manageable. Voters have already made it clear that they feel unheard; the recent budget will only reinforce those perceptions."

This comes amid speculation that Therese Coffey, the new Health Secretary, is planning to scrap the Health Inequalities white paper, aimed at reducing regional differences in life expectancy.

Sources told the Guardian that the paper was “toast”, but this has been denied by Ms Coffey’s department, who insisted that no decisions had been made.

“Scrapping the health inequalities white paper is yet more evidence that levelling up is dead under Liz Truss,” said Mr Cooper.

“People in the North have the lowest life expectancy, spend fewer years in good health, and are likely to the highest healthcare needs.”