Boris Johnson has already let the ‘red wall’ down

Perhaps the prime minister really believes that if he liberally repeats the fatuous term “levelling up” enough times, people will stop peeping behind his tightly drawn curtains to look for the details of his policies.

In truth he is setting up the country for a huge let down as some of his “red wall” backbenchers are beginning to realise. Beyond the inherited HS2, a faltering “northern powerhouse” and a stalled devolution offer, what else of substance is on offer to redress the deepening structural inequalities in jobs, growth, investment, skills and income across the country? The Towns Fund seems to be his only palliative but is already mired in controversy and suspicions that it was allocated more on political than economic calculations.

Boris Johnson cites Germany as a model for levelling up. But where is the Helmut Kohl, single-minded leadership, courage and Keynsian commitment to a multi-trillion, 20-year plan to effectively underwrite modernising the infrastructure of our northern regions on an equivalent scale to the East German leaders of Saxony and Thuringia? Or the imagination to help decentralise the British state by removing its administrative capital to an outlying region as West Germany did after the war (Bonn), so helping trigger the “wirtschaftswunder” (economic miracle)?

Paul Dolan

Cheshire

Boris Johnson gave a much heralded speech on his plan for levelling up and what we learn is... there is no plan. But why should we be surprised? There has never been a plan. The prime minister doesn’t do plans. There wasn’t a plan for Brexit; for how to manage a pandemic; for how to tackle the climate crisis; or for how to solve the glaring and ever widening inequalities in our society.

The prime minister was right about one thing, if maybe unwise to draw attention to it. These problems of government do require leadership. And that is something that has been obviously missing. He asks for us, the public, to email him with suggestions. Well, here is one. For the love of God, step aside. You know you want to. This governing business is just no fun and it doesn’t pay either. Get out of the way and allow some grown ups back in the room.

Anne Wolff

Maidenhead

It is interesting to hear that the prime minister has got himself into some difficulties over the so-called levelling-up programme. The reason is that levelling up is not a new concept. In the olden days it was known as “socialism”. It included policies to revive the fortunes of the north of England which had fallen behind the south in economic growth, as well as nationwide policies such as the creation of the NHS and the programme to raise standards in schools.

After 10 years of Conservative austerity the funding to achieve levelling up is not there. Local authorities have been starved of cash and powers and rendered largely impotent to to deal with the serious issues they face. So I wish the levelling up agenda well but I am not optimistic that it can be delivered by this government, even if there was the will to do so .

Chris Norris

Calne, Wiltshire

Like our prime minister, I too have a plan. Mine is to marry George Clooney. Could readers please email suggestions to assist me in its execution as, although I have a skeleton of an idea, I seem to have mislaid it at the back of a cupboard somewhere.

Adrienne Fitzwilliam

Tunbridge Wells

We are aghast at the scenes of severe flooding in Germany and Belgium and the accompanying loss of lives. This is proof that no country, no matter how wealthy, remains immune from the horrifying repercussions of climate change. This is the most emblematic challenge in the age of globalisation. We have waged a war on nature and nature has struck back with more intensity and ferocity. We have a solemn obligation to act responsibly, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and teach schoolchildren the immense economic, social, health and environmental costs of inaction and apathy.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London NW2

While “freedom day” is wonderful, we cannot help but be a little afraid that it will also pose a significant risk to those vulnerable to Covid-19. Coronavirus hasn’t gone away, is still having an enormous impact on the community and with infection rates rising steeply poses a real risk to the health and safety of those being cared for in care and nursing homes and in their own homes too.

We appeal to people to continue to respect the “hands, face, space” message and wear a mask indoors for the foreseeable future so that our residents and those we care for in their own homes are not put at further risk. We also call on the government to keep hold of the reins. We have seen before that when restrictions are eased, Covid cases rise.

Within social care settings, we have lost more than 32,000 people to the virus and we mourn every loss – every grandparent, every parent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or friend that has been lost to this cruel and indiscriminate pandemic. We send our condolences to their loved ones. For us, the priority remains to do everything we can to prevent any further tragedy.

Mike Padgham

Chair, Independent Care Group