Give the North more power, says levelling up secretary

Devolution will be key to addressing regional inequality the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has said.

Addressing business and civic leaders at the Convention of the North conference in Liverpool today, Michael Gove promised to give the North more power to shape its future.

His visit to the convention follows the publication of the Levelling Up white paper which sets  out a complete ‘system change’ of how government works that will be implemented to Level Up the UK by 2030.

“Whether it’s in Manchester, or Liverpool, or across the north, the fact that we have people across party divides from the public and the private sector, prepared to recognise that this is the central mission of our times is something which is both exciting and potentially transformative because the North is where the action is politically and economically,” he said.

He went onto recognise that the “inequality gap” has been growing because of the centralization of power, wealth and resource and decision making in the South East of England and that “market forces when left alone will mean geographical inequality will increase.”

However, he said investment in transport including a London style transport system, infrastructure, production, R&D, digital connectivity and investment in education were all key to levelling up.

“We need to make sure that further education and skills are oriented towards needs of the economy.

“Employers need more of a say and that needs to change.

“But it’s not just in those areas. If we’re going to have effective change, we need also to recognise that there needs to be effective intervention to deal with some of the public health outcomes that hold people back, whether that’s dealing with obesity, smoking, or any of the other factors which inhibit people’s capacity to lead full lives and to be full participants in the economy.

“We simply can’t go on with the gulf between  the rich and poor, the North and South growing. It’s not simply a matter of social change, it’s also a matter of economic efficiency.”

He added: “Ultimately, we are all on the same team and that is a team committed to making sure opportunity is more equal across the UK.”

Gove’s keynote speech comes as Northern metro mayors urged the government to revisit its original plans to bring high-speed rail to the region.