(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed a long-awaited plan to reduce economic inequality in the U.K., seeking to re-inject momentum into his premiership amid the damaging partygate saga.
Fleshing out his vision to “level up” Britain, a key catchphrase in the Conservative Party's election-winning campaign of 2019, Johnson's government said it would shift many decision-making powers away from London and seek to boost pay and productivity in the U.K.'s most deprived regions.
Key measures in the plan include creating more local mayors, a commitment to boost public investment outside the south-east of England and regenerate town centers, according to a statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight,” Johnson said in the statement, citing faster broadband, falling crime and improved schools as outcomes he wants to achieve. He said the plan was the “next crucial step” to addressing regional inequalities.
In a paper was released on the day the government's auditor said ministers have wasted opportunities to learn how best to close Britain's regional wealth gap, leaving its “leveling up” agenda at risk of failure. The National Audit Office said “a lack of consistent evaluation or monitoring” meant policy makers have no idea what works.
Publication of Johnson's so-called “levelling-up” plan was due to happen last year but was delayed, sparking the criticism that Britain's premier was taking too long to fully articulate, quantify and deliver his flagship policy. The plan's release Wednesday may give Johnson some breathing space from the ongoing furore over alleged illegal gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic, given it indicates progress on a policy popular with his MPs.
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The plan sets out 11 objectives against which “levelling-up” should be judged, and these include by 2030:
- Pay, employment and productivity to have increased in every area of the U.K., with each containing a globally competitive city, and the gap between the top-performing and other areas closing
- At least a 40% rise in public investment in research & development outside the south-east of England
- Transport connectivity standards across the U.K. being significantly closer to London's
- Nationwide gigabit-capable broadband and 4G coverage, with 5G coverage for the majority of the population
Britain's business community cautiously welcomed the government's proposals. The Confederation of British Industry, the U.K.'s biggest business lobby group, said it was a “blueprint for how government can be rewired” and “an encouraging basis” for how the private sector could attract investment, according to a statement. The Federation of Small Businesses said much would depend on how the plan is executed.
Promising to address economic disparities resonated with the British electorate in 2019 and helped Johnson win a swathe of seats in historically Labour-held areas. Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy criticized the plans, calling it a “shuffle of the deckchairs.”
“Ministers have had two and a half years to get this right and all we have been given is more slogans and strategies, with few new ideas,” Nandy said in a statement. “New government structures, recycled pots of money and a small refund on the money this Government have taken from us. We deserve far more ambition.”
Read more: U.K. Wasted Chances to Learn How to ‘Level-Up,' Auditor Says
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