Former BoE chief economist Andy Haldane to lead levelling up agenda
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has been appointed by Boris Johnson to head up a new taskforce charged with leading the government’s levelling up agenda.
Haldane will be head of the new Levelling Up Taskforce, which will sit in a revamped housing ministry under Michael Gove that will be titled the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Haldane will sit in the Cabinet Office as a permanent secretary for six months on secondment from the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and will report directly to Gove and Johnson.
The Prime Minister has made his levelling up agenda the pillar of his domestic platform, with the aim that economically deprived parts of the North and Midlands see heavy investment.
Haldane has said in the past that infrastructure investment alone will not be enough to level up the country, warning that “you don’t level up from the top down, rather you level up from the bottom up”.
Much of Johnson’s plan thus far has been concentrated around the £100bn in infrastructure, with little detail around improving High Streets or improving local transport services.
On announcement of his appointment, Haldane said “levelling up the UK is one of the signature challenges of our time”.
“It has also been a personal passion throughout my professional career so I am delighted and honoured to be making a contribution to this crucial objective,” he said.
Johnson said: “Andy is uniquely qualified to lead our efforts to raise living standards, spread opportunity, improve our public services and restore people’s sense of pride in their communities.”
The new Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will see Gove responsible for the government’s two big domestic priorities of planning reform and levelling up.
He takes over the role of housing secretary from Robert Jenrick, after his reforms were poorly received by the Tory parliamentary party.