MP accuses government of ‘wishful thinking’ on levelling up

Labour MP, Rachel Hopkins, pushed the prime minister’s chief of staff, Steve Barclay, for details rather than “vague words” on how civil service roles will be moved out of London.

The government are planning for 7% of senior civil service roles to move outside of London by 2025, but Hopkins suggested that there was “no plan”.

Barclay denied these suggestions, saying that there is “cross-party support” in the North as the government look to develop the “cyber corridor of the North-West, combining the innovation of Manchester and Lancaster universities”.