BRITS are promised higher wages, quicker trains, faster internet and a longer life as part of Boris Johnson’s flagship levelling up agenda.
Michael Gove will today put flesh on the bones of the campaign by unveiling a blizzard of policies to raise living standards in poorer areas.
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He will set out 12 “missions” to be completed by 2030 that will pour money into left-behind towns.
It will include:
- Higher wages, employment and growth in every corner of Britain
- 5G broadband for most places, with at least 4G covering everywhere
- GPs prescribing exercise and healthy foods and life expectancy rise by five years
- Faster and better public transport in places, similar to London standards
- Ninety per cent of kids able to read and write to standard
- Revamping run-down high streets and making them nicer
- Investment in research and development by at least 40 per cent
- Significant increase in training for high-quality skills
- Wellbeing to improve in every area of the UK
- Renters on the path to home ownership with 50 per cent drop in low-quality rentals
- Serious crimes like murders to have significantly fallen
- More regional mayors for any area which wants it
The long-awaited levelling up white paper will finally be published TODAY, with Mr Gove set to make a major statement to MPs.
Critics have already piled in to blast the lack of new money and rehashed policy announcements.
The 5G pledge for instance has been watered-down from the previous vow to cover all areas by 2025.
But the Cabinet bigwig said levelling up would help end the “postcode lottery” in the UK.
He said: “As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.
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The PM hopes the plan will help get his battered premiership back on track by relentlessly focusing on domestic policies and reform.
He will launch the levelling up plan just hours after he has touched down from Ukraine, where he warned Vladimir Putin he will not tolerate “one Russian toe cap” croissant the border.
Matthew Fell, CBI Chief Policy Director, welcomed the plan.
He said: “It offers a blueprint for how government can be rewired and an encouraging basis for how the private sector can bring the investment and innovation to start overcoming those deep-rooted challenges, and power long term prosperity for every community, wherever they live.”
But Labour scoffed at the trailed release and said: “We’ve had enough slogans, it’s time to deliver.”
She added: “Ministers have had two and a half years to get this right and all we been given is more slogans and strategies, with few new ideas.
Boris Johnson’s answer to our communities calling for change is to shuffle the deckchairs – new government structures, recycled pots of money and a small refund on the money this Government have taken from us.
“This is not what we were promised. We deserve far more ambition this. “
