Labour should embrace ‘levelling up’ as the Tories look primed to drop it

It is one of the very few things Boris Johnson deserves merit for – even if he went about it the wrong way, writes Chris Blackhurst

Is the notion of ‘levelling up’ going out with the PM? (AFP/Getty)

This could be a question in a pub quiz. What was “big society”? Was it: a) a large club? b) a club for large people? c) a jokey name for a club for small people? Or d) a Conservative initiative that advocated giving more power to the people?

The answer is d). But there would be those who would struggle in making the right selection, such was the short life of a key plank in the Tory 2010 election manifesto. Looking back, the policy only ever had one real champion, and that was David Cameron. When he went, his flagship idea died with him. It’s hard to recall any of his senior colleagues even voicing the words “big society”. If they did, they certainly didn’t do so with the same gusto as Cameron. Come forward 12 years. Is “levelling up” destined to go the same way?

The parallels are close. Like big society, no one is entirely sure what levelling up means. It sounds good, though, and paints its standard-bearer, Boris Johnson, in a concerned, caring, sharing light.