‘Levelling up’ pledge will fail unless spending cuts and ‘political bias’ stop, Boris Johnson warned

Funding must be linked to deprivation, peers say – after accusations of ‘naked pork-barrel politics’

Boris Johnson’s vow to “level up” the country will fail unless he cancels spending cuts, devolves power and ends “political bias” in handing out funds, peers are warning.

The pledge – a key plank of the Tories’ electoral success in Labour’s heartlands – is attacked as “deficient”, with huge doubts about what the strategy is and what it is trying to achieve.

The Lords political services committee urges the prime minister to produce firm plans “urgently”, after it took almost two years after reaching No 10 to even appoint an adviser.

Its report says ministers must end their tight grip on local freedoms “for levelling up to be successful” – instead of simply handing out pots of money from Whitehall.

The peers also warn the NHS and schools are being starved of the cash they need to bounce back from Covid-19 – while “funding for councils is facing a real-terms cut”.

And they say funding must be linked to levels of deprivation in each area – after the outcry over what was dubbed “naked pork-barrel politics” in the handouts in Rishi Sunak’s March Budget.

The local authorities of five cabinet ministers – including the chancellor’s – received cash for “town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets”.

Instead of prioritising deprivation, money went to rural areas with low productivity and long commutes to work, factors that favour Conservative parts of the country.

“This lack of transparency has fuelled accusations of political bias,” warns the committee, chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Hilary Armstrong.

It “risks undermining public trust in levelling up”, its letter to the prime minister warns, calling for the “index of multiple deprivation” to be used in making allocations.

Baroness Armstrong added: “The strategy will require a major change of direction if it’s to achieve its admirable ambition for people in ‘left-behind’ areas to have the same opportunities as elsewhere in the country.”

The criticism comes after a government minister said no targets will be set to decide if the levelling up pledge has been achieved – insisting the voters will decide.

This week, two other ministers were accused of demonstrating “a complete lack of understanding” of what the policy is, after a bruising session before a different parliamentary committee.

At one point, Paul Scully, the business minister, said: “It’s about improving outcomes right across the UK. We can see the detachment that people feel about being remote from Westminster.”

Even Tory MPs on the business committee were critical, Mark Pawsey complaining: “I’m struggling to understand, because we haven’t got any metrics, where we need to be.”

More than a year ago, The Independent asked No 10 how the effectiveness of the levelling up policy would be measured and was told “wait for the Budget” – but no announcement has followed.

The peers said progress should be measured on closing disparities on everything from life expectancy, employment, pay, productivity, literacy and numeracy and qualifications – alongside a “timescale for achieving these targets”.