Labour ditches 'levelling up' title as it promises 'grown up politics'

The phrase 'levelling up' is being wiped out by the new Labour government. Those two words became a pillar of Boris Johnson's campaign to become Prime Minister in 2019 and the general election in December that year.

It was a phrase that came with a promise from the Conservatives to transform the North's fortunes and ensure all corners of the UK can prosper - not just London. But after years of political chaos and a stinging cost of living crisis which has hurt families across the country, 'levelling up' was deemed another broken promise by many.

With the new government insisting it will end 'gimmicks and slogans', Labour's top team have killed off the 'levelling up' expression. Asked by BBC Breakfast if the slogan would remain, communities minister Jim McMahon said: "No, it was firmly Tippexed out of the department yesterday, so we are now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

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“Why that is important for me is levelling up was only ever a slogan, it wasn’t a thing that people felt in their communities.” The MP for Oldham West and Royton added: "It is a reshaping of the department. It is a refocus, but frankly it is also just grown up politics.”

While the slogan may be dead, Mr McMahon insists the government 'certainly' wants to tackle regional inequalities, which he says are 'holding our communities and our economy back'. He told LBC: "But we don’t believe a slogan fixes it, we believe action fixes it, we believe building 1.5 million new homes fixes it, we believe investment in the NHS does, investment in our schools system, investment in transport and skills does.”

The change was also confirmed by Mr McMahon's boss in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner. The Deputy PM and Ashton-under-Lyne MP posted on X: "A Government of public service means fixing the fundamentals to deliver for the British people.

“No more gimmicks and slogans, but the hard yards of governing in the national interest. The department I lead will be the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”

The ministry had been renamed the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by Mr Johnson’s government. It was most recently led by Michael Gove, who stood down as a Conservative MP ahead of last week's election.