THERE has been much talk recently about levelling up. Talk is cheap. It is therefore important to study the actual figures on government spending per head. These were recently published by the respected research group IPPR North.

The data revealed that in 2021 region with the lowest spending was Yorkshire and the Humber where £11,532 was spent. The national average was £16,309 and in London the figure was £19,231. London was also the region with the biggest increase.

Put simply each person in our region is having tax taken out of their pockets to spend in the south and there is almost an £8,000 disparity.

Could it just possibly be that this government is very good at sound bites about levelling up but is actually continuing with a long hard reality of levelling down the north?

Andy Brown

Green Party Councillor

Cononley