LABOUR’S Lisa Nandy said the party will make good on Boris Johnson’s promise to level up regions across the UK if it wins the next General Election.
The Shadow International Development Secretary said on GB News: “It's time that we had a more sensible debate in British politics.
“We've long recognised that in 2019, Boris Johnson was speaking to the concerns of a lot of people in this country that the contribution that we have to make in large parts of the country has been written off by people in Westminster, that we lacked the tools and the power to really take charge of our own destiny and that for too many people, geography is destiny.
“The problem was that after recognising that he did very little to actually make good on that promise, we still believe that that it is absolutely fundamental to the prospects of this country, and people deserve those promises to be kept.”
“That's why we're announcing the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster and Whitehall in modern British history through our Take Back Control Bill today at the launch of the local elections.”
In a discussion during Breakfast with Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello, she added: “If we're serious about growing the economy, we need to start getting investment into the right places.
“We need to start prioritising the assets that are in those places and not just talking about the problems that they pose and we need to empower people to be able to drive that change themselves.
“This is personal for me, and it's a central mission of the next Labour government.”
She rejected claims that Labour would not guarantee childcare funding if it wins the election: “We're not rolling back on the promise that Conservatives made to extend childcare provision. But what we are saying is that that needs to be backed by a plan.
“In just a few weeks’ time, that promise of an entitlement to childcare hours kicks in, but many parents are already finding that they just can't access it, that it's completely meaningless because providers are going out of business.
“That's why we've asked David Bell, who is the ex-head of Ofsted, to do a review of childcare and early years for us to ensure that those places are actually available for parents.
“The system at the moment is a mess and we are determined that whatever mess we inherit from the Conservatives, we're going to protect people's entitlement to childcare and make good on that promise.”
