Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ agenda will become a political football – unless he takes these three steps
Although the departure last week of the prime minister’s two most influential advisers was seen as a pivotal moment for Boris Johnson’s premiership, the reality is that advisers come and go. In the end, it’s ministers who take decisions and take responsibility.
Mr Johnson has rightly identified that far too much time and energy has been wasted on picking fights and pursuing combative arguments instead of bringing the country together around solutions. It’s hard finding common ground with those not always on the same political side and then building a consensus around which a common plan can be built. But from my own time in cabinet, I know that’s how you deliver long-term, meaningful change. It’s far easier for governments and political parties to pick fights, but that approach is ultimately a weak one that fails to deliver for people on the ground. If the red wall Labour seats going Tory tell us anything, it’s that delivery is all that counts in the end.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/boris-johnson-level-up-net-zero-red-wall-b1723609.html
Rt Hon Justine Greening
Founder, Social Mobility Pledge
Former Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for International Development, Secretary of State for Transport, Economic Secretary to the Treasury