More mayors and a shake-up of local government will not be enough to rebalance the economy and heal the north-south divide

Two years after Boris Johnson made “levelling up” the lodestar of his new administration, the public still struggles to understand what the prime minister means by it. A new YouGov poll has found that half of those questioned either had no idea what the phrase signifies, or were not completely sure. The government’s flagship domestic policy resembles a ghost vessel drifting in a mist of Whitehall obfuscation and procrastination.

After a torrid period, Mr Johnson badly needs this to change in the new year. However fuzzy the follow-through, the political logic of his original pledge to level up England remains crystal clear: as it seeks to hold together the new electoral coalition forged in the 2019 “Brexit election”, improving the situation and prospects of voters in the north and Midlands is fundamental to the government’s hopes of re-election. The pots of money distributed piecemeal via the various levelling-up funds – described as a “drop in the ocean” by the Centre for Cities thinktank – will not cut it. Having promised to restore pride, regenerate places and deliver economic growth in the “red wall”, a convincing plan is urgently required to demonstrate how this will be done. The indications are that this will not be forthcoming, partly for fear of antagonising voters in the more prosperous south.