Levelling up – do we know what it means?
‘Levelling up’ – a term that is being used frequently by the Government, local politicians, various public and private institutions, and the press. However, do we actually know what they mean by it and how they define it?
In a recent study1, only 42% of people in the UK said that they understand what ‘levelling up’ means. So, the majority of people doesn’t know.
The term ‘levelling up’ can be traced back to the 19th century2 and it has been used for many years by both Labour and the Conservatives. ‘Levelling up’ refers to balancing out inequalities by ensuring that those on lower standards are raised up to the higher standard (rather than those on higher standards lowered, which would be ‘levelling down’). However, the context within which ‘levelling up’ has been mentioned has changed over time. Whereas it was used more in a religious context in the 19th century, it was then mentioned in the context of gender pay gaps. Most recently, ‘levelling up’ has been referred more to in the context of regional inequalities.
Many people will think of England’s North/South divide when they think of regional inequalities. However, the Government has not been as specific. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities states on their website that it “supports communities across the UK to thrive, making them great places to live and work”. In addition, the recently created Levelling Up Fund supports local infrastructure projects, regional growth and green jobs and it talks about local and deprived communities, such as coastal communities and ex-industrial areas. It does not specially mention the North/South divide.
The definition offered by the Government so far is broad and non-specific. It is possible that the long-awaited White Paper on Levelling Up, which has now been postponed to January 2022, will provide further answers.
In the meantime, the question remains – if we haven’t clearly and specifically defined what we mean by ‘Levelling Up’, how can we create an action plan and how can we measure success?
Study conducted by Centre for Cities, ITV and FocalData; https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/what-does-the-public-think-about-levelling-up/
Source: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/levelling-up-the-surprisingly-long-history/