‘Levelling up doesn't happen by magic’: Devolution is ‘essential for tackling inequality’, Keir Starmer says

28 March 2024, 11:11

Keir Starmer has promised a 'full fat' devolution
Keir Starmer has promised a 'full fat' devolution. Picture: Alamy

By Kit Heren

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to give regional authorities more powers under a Labour government, as he said that "levelling up doesn't happen by magic".

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The Labour leader said that he wanted the new powers to be used to create wealth outside of London, the south-east and the major cities.

"Devolution is absolutely essential for taking on regional inequality," he said in a speech in Dudley launching Labour's local election campaign.

"Levelling up doesn't happen by magic, but the energy and drive must always come from the place itself," he said, promising a "full-fat approach to devolution".

Sir Keir said that Labour would launch a new industrial strategy that would create 650,000 jobs to "relight the fires of renewal in communities" like Dudley.

Read more: Millions of Brits face £100 council tax hikes in further cost of living blow to households

Read more: 55 'overlooked and undervalued towns' to get £20 million each - full list revealed

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Picture: Alamy

Some of these would be in car factory "gigafactories" in the Midlands, "clean steel" in Sheffield, and ports to support the "offshore boom in the north".

Sir Keir said that only 10% of the money set aside for levelling up projects had been allocated so far, and promised to unlock more of it.

But he would not be drawn on new money for local authorities, claiming that there was no "magic money tree" with the Conservatives having "broken the economy".

He said: "I can't pretend that we can turn the taps on, pretend that damage hasn't been done to the economy, it has. The way out of that is to grow our economy".

Keir Starmer vowed to do the hard yards on levelling up
Keir Starmer vowed to do the hard yards on levelling up. Picture: Alamy

He said that Conservatives had not done the "hard yards" on levelling up.

"It's about people with skin in the game and playing their full part, but alongside a national strategy that works.

"That is hard yards. And my frustration of the past 14 years, but particularly since 2019, is that in saying levelling up, the Government was tapping into something real that people yearned for, but they didn't have a viable plan. And they didn't do the hard yards. That's unforgivable.

Lisa Nandy: 'Boris Johnson had no real plan to follow through with Levelling Up'

"And we intend to turn that around and make sure that we can make that connection real and change places across the Black Country."

Sir Keir said he hoped to have been launching a general election campaign for a May vote, but said Rishi Sunak of "bottled it".

"He wants one last drawn-out summer tour with his beloved helicopter," he said. "So we need to send him another message, show his party once again that their time is up, the dithering must stop, the date must be set.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

People claiming disability benefits are getting "unacceptably poor service" from the Government as they wait on average 10 times longer for their calls to be answered

‘Unacceptably poor service’ - disability benefit claimants wait 10 times longer for calls to be answered

Online shopping fraud rose quickly to cost consumers more than £56 million last year, marking an increase of 20% in shopping scams.

Online shopping fraud rises 20% costing consumers more than £56 million in one year

Trump is under fire for linking the plane crash to diversity hiring

'Despicable': Trump under fire for linking Washington plane crash to diversity - as he jokes about swimming in river

Trump said on Thursday that the US will start imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico from Saturday, which will likely have a dramatic impact on the economy.

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico from February 1 with China to follow, setting up trade war

Exclusive
Abadi Ismail witnessed the crash

'Like a war zone': Washington plane crash witness describes scene of horror he saw from his window

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein kept in touch longer than the duke had previously said

'We'll play some more soon': Prince Andrew's message to Jeffrey Epstein two months after he said contact ended

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull in the gardens at Mount St Margaret Hospital, Sydney, 27 July 1969

Mick Jagger leads tributes to late ex-girlfriend and Sixties pop icon Marianne Faithfull

Selena Lau (L) and Nuria Sajjad (R), both eight, died in the incident at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon, south-west London, in July 2023 while celebrating the last day of the summer term.

Driver bailed after SUV ploughed into Wimbledon primary school tea party and two 8-year-old girls killed

Amy Dowden

Strictly star Amy Dowden suffers 'four to five blackouts a day' as she shares worrying health update

The recovery operation is focused on the Potomac River

Donald Trump pins blame for Washington plane crash that killed 67 people on diversity hires

Marianne Faithfull.

Beloved pop singer and actress Marianne Faithfull dies aged 78

Exclusive
Geoffrey Hinton

'Godfather of AI' warns 'alien superintelligence' could replace humans - and no one knows how to make it safe

Lincolnshire Police

Police force to cut 200 officers amid 14 million budget shortfall

Watts and Samson

Murderer who was out on licence when he killed woman in Croydon handed life sentence

Connor Slade was found dead at a primary school in Wales.

Pictured: 13-year-old boy found dead at primary school named as tributes pour in

Jorja Watt

Newly-qualified teacher died after 'trauma' of being stripped and left naked in a police cell, inquest hears