What does 'levelling up' really mean? How to turn a promise into reality

Since the 2019 general election, 'levelling up' has been the government’s go-to slogan. The Queen’s Speech set out an ambition to "level up opportunities across all parts of the UK". The chancellor has previously unveiled a 'levelling up' fund. The prime minister has recently appointed a 'levelling up' adviser. And the promise to 'level up' featured heavily during the recent Hartlepool by-election. But what does 'levelling up' actually mean? How does the government intend to turn this slogan into reality? How can voters judge the success – or not – of the 'levelling up' agenda at the next election? The Institute for Government was delighted to bring together an expert panel to discuss past efforts at distributing investment, creating job opportunities and increasing productivity, and to assess whether Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ agenda will see the Conservatives hold on to electoral gains in the so-called ‘red wall’ constituencies. On the panel were: John Godfrey, Corporate Affairs Director at Legal & General and former Head of Policy at No.10 (2016–17) Lord Mandelson, Chairman of Global Counsel and former European Commissioner for Trade and MP for Hartlepool (1992–2004) Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and former Special Adviser to Theresa May Rachel Wolf, Founding Partner at Public First and former Education and Innovation Adviser to David Cameron The event was chaired by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government.