Many people believe the next election will be decided by which party is seen to be doing the most to 'Level Up' the country, in particular within the former 'Red Wall' seats in the North and the Midlands. Rishi Sunak's opening speech as Prime Minister included a pledge to Level Up every region in the UK, taking forward the policy that helped Boris Johnson sweep to victory in the 2019 General Election, and Kier Starmer has said his approach will be built around a strategic plan with funding for infrastructure.
In June 2021, DWF worked with YouGov to understand the views of residents in the North and the Midlands and published the report 'Will Levelling Up meet voter priorities? ' which identified clear priorities centring on safety and security, job security, and improving local high streets.
This year we re-contacted many of those residents to see how attitudes towards Levelling Up and their local area have changed over the past year.