Across great swathes of English local government, three lost years of levelling up have served principally to foster a growing sense of frustration, resentment and disappointment. The value of piecemeal pots of money made available by Westminster has been dwarfed by the impact of long-term austerity on council finances. Inflation has diminished their worth still further and the cost of living crisis has disproportionately struck areas that levelling up was intended to help.
But what has perhaps grated most with local leaders is the “begging-bowl culture” condemned by the Conservative West Midlands mayor, Andy Street; a bidding process requiring areas to spend inordinate sums fighting each other for access to limited Westminster largesse. Though purportedly designed to empower less well-off regions, the levelling up programme has reinforced the supplicant status of communities in thrall to politicised decision-making in London.
