Levelling Up plan is short on detail and leaves West Northamptonshire short-changed, says Labour

'We needed a real vision, instead it has proven to be an election slogan backed up by broken promises'
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Labour says West Northamptonshire has been 'short-changed' by the government’s Levelling Up White Paper.

The 332-page document pledged to 'change the economic model of this country' by improving living standards outside London and the South East by 2030.

Minister for Levelling Up Michael Gove admitted people in the Midlands have been 'overlooked and undervalued for years by politicians.'

The government published its Levelling Up White Paper but it contained no new initiatives for West NorthantsThe government published its Levelling Up White Paper but it contained no new initiatives for West Northants
The government published its Levelling Up White Paper but it contained no new initiatives for West Northants

It was a cornerstone of the Conservative 2019 election manifesto but has been met with deafening silence from the county's MPs and local councillors.

The West Northamptonshire Labour group, meanwhile, claims the paper contains nothing new and that for every £13 taken from Midlands towns and cities, 'levelling up' only gives £1 back.

Labour's deputy leader Councillor Emma Roberts said: "West Northants is home to some of the most ‘left behind’ areas of the country and the Conservative government was elected on a promise that these communities would benefit from ‘levelling up.’

"Instead, it's proven to be an election slogan backed up by empty words and broken promises.

"We needed a real vision for how areas like West Northants are going to exit the pandemic and end a decade of stagnation. Instead, the government chucked change at councils who have had their services reduced year on year.

"It’s a short-on-detail document that leaves West Northants short-changed.”

West Northamptonshire Council did not respond to requests for a comment from its Conservative councillors.

According to the White Paper, the West gets:

■ £8.45 million from the Future High Streets fund, announced last year, which is earmarked to revamp Northampton Market Square

■ £25 million from the Towns Fund, announced in March 2021 to help redevelop the former Marks & Spencer site in Abington Street

■ £340,000 from the Community Renewal Fund announced last November to create a Knowledge Exchange for Better Business.

West Northamptonshire Council recently agreed to take out a £20 million loan to build a North-West relief road after failing in its bid for a share of the government's £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.

The area also missed out on being named among East Midlands' six new Education Investment Areas — while North Northamptonshire will get extra funding to help underperforming schools, alongside local authorities in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

The White Paper says the West will benefit from Project Gigabyte providing faster broadband points to an extra 841 police officers recruited across the East Midlands since October 2019.

Northamptonshire Police currently has 1,370 officers, the most ever and an increase of around 220 since 2019. There is also the promise of more to come with a target of 1,500 by the end of next year by adding an extra £10-a-year on council tax bills.

It also says there were 831 more doctors and 1,900 more nurses working in hospitals in the East Midlands between September 2019 and September 2021 and gives regional figures for apprenticeships and Kickstart jobs for young people.