Figures close to the capital’s mayor were furious at plans to cut London’s allocation from the U.K. Shared Prosperity Fund to zero in future years. The fund was established to support the long-term economic development of towns and cities in place of EU structural funds after Brexit.
“If the Treasury goes ahead with this cut, it would be incredibly shortsighted. They say they want economic growth but their actions in failing to invest in new infrastructure in the capital and cutting local growth funds will actually damage our economy, not improve it … they say they want regional mayors to be the drivers of growth but then remove their levers to achieve growth,” an individual close to Khan told POLITICO’s Playbook.
A government official pointed out that in London alone, the Treasury has backed the extension of four airports, alongside funding HS2 to Euston and approval of City Hall plans to pedestrianize Oxford Street.
Leveling up 2.0
Weary voters may think they have heard it all before.
Former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne championed the Northern Powerhouse as he sought to detoxify his party’s brand in the north of England. Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s flagship leveling-up agenda also sought to convince traditional Labour voters, who voted Conservative for the first time in 2019 following the Brexit vote, to stick around.
That vote collapsed for the Tories. Labour’s new Housing Secretary Angela Rayner later ditched the “leveling up” title from her government department, declaring there would be “no more government by gimmick.”