How HS2 caused the UK to lose focus on ‘levelling up’ during years of high-speed rail delays: Pressure on the UK government to confirm its plans for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail project is growing as the Conservative party prepares for its annual conference. Much of the country is keen to hear about the fate …
Levelling up alone won’t help many of the UK’s ‘left-behind’ places: philip openshaw/Shutterstock The economies of the UK and US, among other nations, are increasingly based on unjust forms of democracy that do not align with regional attitudes or support regional equality. This can be seen in the many deprived cities, towns and other “left-behind” …
Levelling up: how UK freeports risk harbouring international crime: SciPhi.tv A significant element of the UK government’s levelling up plan to create thousands of jobs, regenerate more deprived areas and attract overseas investors is the introduction of freeports. These special low-tax trading zones allow all kinds of businesses to trade. Under the UK model, freeports …
The ‘levelling up’ bidding process wastes time and money – here’s how to improve it: The UK government recently announced the results of the second round of successful bids for for its £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund. This money is provided to local governments with the ambitious (but pretty unspecific) aim of “creating opportunities for …
Is Labour’s vision of a New Britain any different to the Tories’ levelling up?: Former prime minister Gordon Brown’s review of the UK constitution could be a hugely significant moment for the UK. A radical agenda for political change is being offered by the party tipped to win the next election. The Brown review outlines …
New grant will fund The Conversation partnership on critical research into COVID recovery, net zero, cities and levelling up and inequality: Shutterstock The world has changed in manifold ways since the height of the pandemic – and research evidence can help governments respond to them. In the last few years, homeworking has become the new …
Arts Council cuts: the problems with ‘levelling up’ through culture: Thomas Bowles / Alamy Questions about the politics of support for the arts have always been fraught and the recent announcement about Arts Council England’s latest funding round is no exception. At the heart of the current controversy is the movement of millions of pounds …
Levelling up: why UK cities are less competitive than their European counterparts: As one of the UK's 11 core cities, Nottingham lags behind its European counterparts. Tom Podmore | Unsplash, FAL As we emerge from the pandemic-induced economic slump into a world of higher inflation shaped by ongoing crises, like Brexit and the war in …
‘Levelling up’ the UK is a golden opportunity for climate action – but the government is failing: APChanel/Shutterstock Economists no longer talk of decarbonisation as a cost; climate action is now widely seen as an investment. Like any investment in new economic sectors, money spent is expected to be more than made back by the …
Other countries have made progress in levelling up – here’s how the UK’s plan compares: Ilyas Tayfun Salci / Shutterstock The UK is currently one of the most regionally unequal countries in the developed world. The white paper on levelling up outlines the government’s plans to address this through 12 “missions” to increase economic and …
Levelling up: four problems with Boris Johnson’s flagship project: The UK government has revealed its plan to level up the country – a white paper setting out policies to tackle inequality between places. The plan comes at a defining moment. It’s widely seen as the key to holding on to the constituencies that delivered victory …
‘Without full Treasury backing on levelling up, Michael Gove may not have the clout to succeed’ – expert Q&A: More than two years after its landslide election victory, the UK government has finally unveiled its white paper for narrowing the gap between the richest and poorest parts of the country. The levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, …
What actually is ‘levelling up’? What we know about Boris Johnson’s agenda – and what we don’t: The promise to “level up and unite the country” has been a central message since the current UK government came to power in 2019. During the election of that year, the slogan was the counterpart to the promise …
Levelling up: the quarrel over who gets funding is a sideshow to much bigger obstacles: In the budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed a £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund to help reverse 40 years of growing inequality across the UK’s regions. This stems from the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto commitment to close the economic gap between the …
South Africa in the news: The Latest: Germany sees drop in new cases levelling off: The head of Germany’s disease control agency has warned that the drop in new coronavirus cases has levelled off even as the share of more contagious variants is rising.: “South Africa” – BingNews South Africa readies ‘most important’ budget yet …
How social media are levelling Kenya’s political field — and lessons learnt: Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja is filmed during an impromptu meeting on the streets of the capital. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images Social media have opened up spaces for political candidates to engage with voters in more direct ways compared to traditional forms of …
South Africa in the news: New Zealand take strides towards levelling series: But we might on this one.” If so, going into their last day of 2016-17, five wickets away from securing their first win over South Africa in a decade, should get a Colin de Grandhomme-sized thumbs up. The 30-year old allrounder was at …