Northern leaders call for commitments in law towards Levelling Up

City-region mayors and other political and business leaders from across Northern England are calling on the government to enshrine its promises on Levelling Up in law.

Regional leaders are calling on Westminster to replace bidding systems for government funding with settlements for all parts of England to close regional disparities and grow local economies. The call, made the annual Convention of the North taking place in Manchester today (25th January), comes following large swathes of the country, including Stockport, missed out on support from the government’s latest awards from the Levelling Up Fund.

Recent research by think-tank, IPPR North, has found that if the North of England were a country, it would be second only to Greece for the lowest levels of investment in the OECD. Northern England also lags behind London and the South-east on a range of key measures of living standards including life expectancy, weekly earnings and education levels.

Northern leaders have taken inspiration from how the German government tackled the gap in living standards between former East and West Germany after the country’s reunification in the early 1990s. Carsten Schneider, Germany’s current Minister for East Germany and Equivalent Living Conditions, will also address the convention via video to explain how delivering equal living conditions nationwide is codified in the German constitution. Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, and his opposition counterpart, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, are also expected to speak later today.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, explained: 

“The Levelling Up Fund announcement last week laid bare the issues with these short-term competitive funding pots. We end up with winners and losers but nobody is able to actually plan for long-term investment in their areas.  Hard-wiring levelling up into UK law would move us away from policy by press release and start to tackle the unequal living standards we have in our country.  If we were able to close the gaps between the North and London and the South East, we’d see drastic improvements in everything from incomes to skills, to ultimately boosting life expectancy.  This would of course be good for people in the North, but would also help grow the UK economy as a whole. 

“Germany shows us what can be done when you hard-wire legal guarantees to tackle inequalities and empower local leaders into the fabric of your country. East Germany has seen long-term support and investment since the fall of communism – and it has worked.  Cities in Eastern Germany are now powering ahead of cities here in the North.

“Our own history has shown us that, too often, the North struggles to get to the top of the Government’s to-do list – whichever political party is in charge.  That’s why we need to hard-wire levelling up into UK law and unlock the potential of the North to help the whole country thrive.”

Convention of the North is the region’s major annual gathering, bringing together business, political and civic leaders to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the North. As well as key figures from the Government and Opposition, the Convention will hear from Northern Mayors, Council Leaders, leading businesspeople and representatives of the VCSE sector as the North shapes its agenda for 2023. 

Building on previous events in Rotherham, Gateshead and Liverpool, Convention of the North 2023 is being held on Wednesday 25 January at Manchester Central. The event is being delivered by Greater Manchester alongside NP11, and is sponsored by Growth Flag (in partnership with the Growth Company and Red Flag Alert), The University of Manchester and Manchester Central.