The politics behind Sir Keir Starmer’s intervention is clear. By accusing Rishi Sunak of betraying Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda, the Labour leader is targeting what is already a festering wound for the Conservatives.
The personal rivalry between the current and former prime ministers provided the debilitating psychodrama of recent years and remains hugely divisive within the Tory party.
Johnson has accused Sunak of failing to deliver on the flagship pledge of his 2019 manifesto, while senior Tories including Andy Street, the Tory mayor for the West Midlands, have accused the government of creating a “begging bowl culture” for local authorities.
But is Starmer’s claim true? The Labour leader states that the government’s analysis of the problem was “good”. And Michael Gove’s levelling-up white paper, published
