The scale of the challenge to level up the country has been laid bare in new analysis showing the areas most in need of help are almost all in the North or Midlands.
Boris Johnson vowed to "level up" the country at the 2019 election but his long delayed blueprint to flesh out the plans was slammed for being devoid of new ideas earlier this month.
The Mirror's data unit pored over the statistics for England on vital issues such as crime rates, school outcomes, public transport, life expectancy and workers' pay across 307 local authority areas.
We have drawn up a list ranking which areas are most in need of levelling up by analysing these metrics, which ministers say they will use to measure progress.
Middlesbrough tops the list of local authority areas most in need, with Rochdale, Doncaster, Blackpool and Rotherham all making the top five.
Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, ranks sixth - but the rest of the top 20 is made up of areas in the North East, North West and the Midlands.
The areas least in need of levelling up are all in the South of England, including Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove's Surrey Heath constituency and Windsor and Maidenhead, represented by ex-PM Theresa May and Tory Adam Afriye.
The Government's 332-page Levelling Up document sets out 12 "missions" to achieve by 2030 on topics like schools, health, crime, broadband and local leadership.
But Labour accused the Government of rehashing old ideas and failing to put enough new cash behind the project.
See how your area fares using our handy widget.
The 20 areas most in need of levelling up
- MIDDLESBROUGH // 1
- ROCHDALE // 2
- DONCASTER // 3
- BLACKPOOL // 4
- ROTHERHAM // 5
- GREAT YARMOUTH // 6
- BASSETLAW // 7
- STOKE-ON-TRENT // 8
- BOSTON // 9
- GATESHEAD // 10
- EAST LINDSEY // 11
- NOTTINGHAM // 12
- OLDHAM // 13
- WALSALL // 13
- WAKEFIELD // 15
- REDCAR AND CLEVELAND // 16
- HARTLEPOOL // 17
- LUTON // 18
- NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE // 19
- ROSSENDALE // 20
The 20 areas least in need of levelling up
- BEXLEY // 288
- EPSOM AND EWELL // 288
- SUTTON // 290
- MOLE VALLEY // 291
- SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE // 292
- REIGATE AND BANSTEAD // 293
- EASTLEIGH // 294
- BASINGSTOKE AND DEANE // 295
- WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD // 296
- BROMLEY // 297
- WOKING // 297
- KINGSTON UPON THAMES // 299
- SURREY HEATH // 300
- HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM // 301
- WOKINGHAM // 302
- ELMBRIDGE // 303
- HART // 304
- RUSHMOOR // 305
- RICHMOND UPON THAMES // 306
- RUNNYMEDE // 307
