It’s not just Brexit – there’s another Tory unmentionable in this election

Michael Gove searches for a mention of levelling up in the new Tory manifesto (it’s on page 72) (PA Wire)

Is it possible to have two elephants in the room? In this election there is one, the “B-word”, that is scarcely mentioned. But there is another.

Five years ago, the Tories swept to power on the back of something called “levelling up”. That description is deliberate. For no one, least of all its main proponent, Boris Johnson, had much idea what it actually entailed.

Regardless, it’s not playing anywhere in 2024. Rishi Sunak uttered the phrase only when challenged on how the Tories were going to pay for the return of national service (he replied that they would raid the levelling up fund). Oh, and at the start of the campaign there were some handouts from the government to towns to assist them in smartening up their centres, mostly in Tory seats. That’s about all.