Tory MP pinpoints the one exact reason his party lost Red Wall and how to win it back

Levelling Up and its precursor Northern Powerhouse, were watershed moments for the North.

After what felt like decades of being forgotten, there was finally a party in power laying out a specific proposal to boost areas at the other end of the M1. Proud communities that had once exported textiles, steel, food, and countless other items across the world had a hope that a Westminster government was taking them seriously again.

By the third round of funding at the end of 2023, £4.9 billion had been allocated to projects across the country, with Yorkshire and the Humber receiving almost £500 million. In my own patch of Keighley and Ilkley tens of millions have been ringfenced to deliver new skills opportunities, boost businesses, and secure the future of key community assets.

The Levelling Up vision is laudable and has already made a huge difference to local communities across the north, however we cannot lose sight of the fact that despite this the Conservatives have just been handed their largest election loss in history. In West Yorkshire alone, we lost 8 seats in July. My constituency is now the only Conservative held seat wholly within West and South Yorkshire. To win in 2029, we must win back voters in places like Yorkshire, and the hundreds of tight knit and deeply rooted communities across the north of England. What went wrong?

Time and time again on the doorstep, people simply said they couldn’t feel the wave of regeneration that Levelling Up had promised. They knew that dozens of local projects had been completed or were ongoing, and they agreed that they were welcome developments, and yet it somehow still didn’t feel real.

Going forward, we have to address these concerns. Our next party leader must recognise that if we want to level up, we must bring local people on that journey with us. We need to expand the transparency of the funding bid process and explain openly the involvement of local government in delivering projects. Where local government is weak, which I have experienced in Keighley and Ilkley, we must not be shy of demanding better.

There is also huge scope for altering the bidding process. With so much funding on offer it is not unfair to say that my own local council was unsure of how to spend it all. This led to a scattershot series of projects, which whilst welcome in and of themselves, missed out on using the funds for a stronger joined up strategy plan. In future government will need to assist councils in delivering a stronger series of proposals and provide local people with the ability to shape those plans.

Finally, we need to have a tight grasp on the measurables that levelling up can deliver. Without a clear idea of what any given project is meant to achieve, it is impossible to build trust amongst the public.

That’s why, whilst it is important to reflect on our broader party record, each of our leadership candidates must make a specific pitch to the north and the voters we lost at the general election.

Four of six of our leadership candidates represent constituencies in the Southeast of England and five of six were born in London.

My constituents and I will need to be convinced that whoever wins the top job in our party, understands that we must continue to deliver on the Levelling Up agenda in a way that ordinary people can not only see the benefits of, but have agency over.

In particular that means a clear plan to deliver responsive decision making at a local level. That means a clear plan of investment to continue the regeneration of proud manufacturing and rural communities and create opportunity for young people to thrive in their hometown. And that means a national policy platform that red wall voters not only support but believe we can deliver.

It is still early in this contest, but I owe to my constituents to ensure that whoever I put my support behind will back communities like ours.