Conservative prime ministers are adept at finding ways to talk about inequality without naming the problem. David Cameron bemoaned “broken Britain” and proposed “the big society” as a remedy. The idea was that civic bonds could be strengthened to fill gaps left by cuts to state services. Theresa May pledged to address “burning injustices”, which she rightly identified as drivers of support for Brexit. But then she alighted on immigration as the emblematic problem. She saw that globalisation’s bounty had been unfairly distributed, but retreated to the politics of blaming foreigners.
Then came Boris Johnson and “levelling up”. Here, too, was recognition that many communities had been left behind and needed active government to help them catch up. But Mr Johnson’s idea, like most of his rhetoric, was a product of magical thinking. He wanted to spend money in deprived areas without making the case for increased public borrowing or raising new revenue from affluent voters.
