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A year on from the levelling up white paper: how much progress has been delivered?

Anneliese Dodds MP joined us to discuss what the UK's economic challenges mean for the levelling up agenda.

An IfG panel featuring (from left to right) Anneliese Dodds MP, Thomas Pope, Councillor Abi Brown (shown on screen), Professor Richards Jones and Councillor Jane Mudd.
Panellists (from left to right) Anneliese Dodds MP, Thomas Pope, Councillor Abi Brown (shown on screen), Professor Richards Jones and Councillor Jane Mudd discuss how much progress the government has made on its levelling up agenda.

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The Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, published in February 2022, was meant to provide the Johnson government’s flagship domestic policy. Containing 12 missions and pledging a ‘rewiring of Whitehall’, ministers heralded the white paper as a blueprint for a radical overhaul of the UK’s governance and economic geography. While Boris Johnson is no longer in post, prime minister Rishi Sunak has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to levelling up.

But one year on from the levelling up white paper’s publication, how much progress has been achieved against its ambitions? What do the UK’s economic challenges mean for the levelling up agenda? And what more does the government need to do to reduce regional inequalities?

To discuss these questions and more, our expert panel included:

  • Councillor Abi Brown, Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council
  • Anneliese Dodds MP, Chair of the Labour Party and Labour Policy Review
  • Professor Richard Jones, Vice-President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement at The University of Manchester
  • Councillor Jane Mudd, Vice-Chair of the Western Gateway Partnership and Leader of Newport City Council

The event was chaired by Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.

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This event is kindly supported by Policy@Manchester, The University of Manchester's policy engagement unit.

Policy@Manchester

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