If Boris Johnson really plans to ‘level up’ the country, why won’t he explain how he will do it?

POLITICS EXPLAINED Not a single benchmark for success or failure has been unveiled – and, on schools and housing, ministers risk going backwards, writes Rob Merrick

The prime minister says ‘levelling up’ is key domestic aim – but how can we judge him? (Reuters)

How will we know if Boris Johnson is achieving his repeated promise to “level up” the country, if he won’t tell us how success or failure will be measured?

That was the question I asked No 10 in the glow of the Conservative election triumph at the start of the year – pointing out the extraordinary absence of a single target or yardstick – to be told “wait for the Budget”.

Well, two mini-Budgets came and went in the spring and summer without enlightenment, and the main autumn event has just been axed, so I suppose I must carry on waiting.