Rishi Sunak denies favouring the South with levelling up funding allocations

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has said northern England will “disproportionately benefit” from levelling up funding as he rejected suggestions schemes have been picked to shore up support in Tory areas.

Levelling up was a key policy under former PM Boris Johnson, who said he wanted to reduce the economic imbalance between the North and South.

But as part of the latest £2.1bn of support for local projects, almost £362m will be spent in London and the South East, while £354m will go to the North West.

Politics hub: Labour hit out at Rishi Sunak using plane for levelling up funding trip

On a visit to Lancashire to promote the funding announcements, Mr Sunak insisted there was a “huge” difference in funding on a per capita basis, with the North West coming out on top.

“We are completely committed to levelling up across the United Kingdom,” he said.

“If you look at how we are spending this money it is disproportionately benefiting people in the North East, the North West, and that’s great.”

Mr Sunak denied the funding allocations were motivated by an attempt to shore up support in Tory seats.

It was put to him that his cabinet has more members representing Surrey than the north of England, and if this has impacted the decision-making process.

“I think around half the funding we have announced over the course of today, or both funds, has actually gone to places that are not controlled by Conservative MPs or councils,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone can say it’s being done on that basis, there’s a completely objective, transparent criteria.”

Mr Sunak also faced criticism that many deprived areas missed out on the funding, while his own Richmond constituency in North Yorkshire was awarded £19m.

The PM defended the regeneration of the Catterick Garrison high street, saying the funding would deliver the amenities needed by troops living there.

Centralised system of decision making flawed’

Speaking in the Commons earlier, Communities Minister Lucy Frazer said £8bn of bids were made for the funding, with around £2bn approved to 100 projects.

The £2bn allocated comes from the overall £4.8bn levelling up fund announced in 2020.

Some Conservative MPs expressed dissatisfaction at their local communities not having made the cut.

Robert Largan said he was “bitterly disappointed” that High Peak Borough Council had once again failed to secure £20m in investment.

While Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street questioned why the majority of his region’s bids had been rejected.

“Fundamentally, this episode is just another example as to why Whitehall’s bidding and begging bowl culture is broken, and the sooner we can decentralise and move to proper fiscal devolution the better,” he said in a statement.

“The centralised system of London civil servants making local decisions is flawed and I cannot understand why the levelling up funding money was not devolved for local decision makers to decide what is best for their areas.”

Other investments granted include:

£20m to Gateshead Quays and the Sage
£5.1m to build female changing rooms in 20 rugby clubs across Northern Ireland
£50m to create a direct train service linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth/Penryn in Cornwall
£40m for a new Multiversity – a carbon-neutral education campus in Blackpool’s Talbot Gateway central business district

And a regional breakdown of the funding shows:

Yorkshire and the Humber: £120,619,162
West Midlands: £155,579,834
Wales: £208,175,566
South West: £186,663,673
South East: £210,467,526
Scotland: £177,206,114
Northern Ireland: £71,072,373
North West: £354,027,146
North East: £108,548,482
London: £151,266,674
East Midlands: £176,870,348
East: £165,903,400

Analysis in The Times indicated 52 Tory constituencies in England benefit – more than twice as many as those represented by Labour MPs.

Mr Sunak said the money allocated would boost growth, local pride and allow people to stay closer to where they grew up without feeling the need to move to the capital.

The PM has previously faced accusations of favouritism after leaked footage emerged of him telling Tory members in Kent how as chancellor he had channelled funding away from “deprived urban areas” to “make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve”.

The Q&A came amid criticism for using a jet to get to Lancashire rather than relying on the train.

Mr Sunak toured Accrington market on Thursday before heading to Morecambe, where £50m will support the Eden Project North attraction.

During a walkabout on the site of the project, one passer-by shouted: “Lend us 20 quid for my heating bill, Rishi.”

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove also defended the funding allocations, telling Sky News the government had “objective criteria that govern where money is going”.

‘Rock-bottom’ allocation of funding

But shadow communities minister Alex Norris questioned “what on earth” that criteria was.

Speaking in the Commons, he told MPs: “There’s a rock-bottom allocation for Yorkshire and the Humber, nothing for the cities of Birmingham, Nottingham and Stoke, nothing for Stonehouse in Plymouth, a community in the bottom 0.2% for economic activity.

“But money for the prime minister’s constituency, money for areas in the top quartile economically. What on earth were the objective criteria used to make these decisions?”

Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said the fund was a “Hunger Games-style contest” which only offered a partial refund for resources stripped out of communities through austerity measures.

World

‘Now is our time’: Despite tariffs, China’s Silicon Valley is ready to make its mark on the world

Published

6 hours ago

April 23, 2025

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'Now is our time': Despite tariffs, China's Silicon Valley is ready to make its mark on the world

The city of Hangzhou is one of the most historic and beautiful in China.

But this ancient place now has the most modern of reputations, as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.

A vibrant hub for entrepreneurs and high-tech start-ups, Hangzhou is home to headline-grabbing success stories like Alibaba and breakthrough AI firm, DeepSeek.

In the context of escalating competition with America, the world is increasingly paying attention.

Those who are part of the tech scene here brim with enthusiasm.

Over coffee, in an ultra-modern city complex, they describe how exciting this moment feels, not just for their businesses, but for China too.

“We have the talents, we have the environment, and we have the full supply chain, even though we have a challenging environment,” says Grace Zheng, who has worked at the AI glasses creator Looktech since its inception.

“It’s our time.”

The others laugh and nod. “I agree with it,” says Jia Dou, whose company Wuli Coffee, creates high-tech, automated commercial coffee machines. “And I think it’s our time to show and battle with other foreign countries.”

And is that a battle China could now win, I ask? “Of course,” comes the answer.

They tell stories of how estate agents in Hangzhou dedicated hours of their time for free to find the perfect laboratory space, and how the local government showered them in grants and incentives; so hungry is this city for tech success.

“Hangzhou says we’ll provide the sunshine and the water, you go ahead and grow,” explains Zhang Jie.

She is the convenor of this group. An entrepreneur herself and the founder of a thriving ‘incubator’ for start-ups, she has invested in and mentored all the others around the table.

She is passionate, energetic and has a second-to-none understanding of what makes Hangzhou and China’s tech scene so successful.

“In China, we have more than 10 million university and college students graduating. Then we’re talking about at least five to six million engineers with college education background,” she says.

“So with such a large group of young and intelligent people with a good environment, a favourable environment for entrepreneurship, I’m sure there will be even greater companies coming in the future.”

Indeed, a combination of light-touch local regulation, (unusual in China more broadly), coupled with one of the most business-oriented and free-thinking universities in the country, Zhejiang University, is viewed by many as the secret sauce in Hangzhou.

Zhang says she has had more young people approach her with business ideas in the last quarter than at any other time before, and she is full of optimism about the current wave.

“They are already companies [in China that will] probably be greater than Apple, right?” She laughs.

And she may well be right.

But there is one name in particular, born and bred in Hangzhou, that has captured the world’s attention in recent months.

When DeepSeek unveiled its latest open-source AI model earlier this year, it stunned the world, claiming to be as good as western competitors for a fraction of the price.

Many are now talking about the ‘DeepSeek moment’, a moment that turbocharged confidence within China and made the rest of the world sit up and take notice.

Indeed, successes like this are being lauded by China’s leaders. In February, tech bosses, including DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng, were invited to a symposium with Xi Jinping and his top team.

Photo ops and handshakes with the president, an abrupt change from the crackdown they faced just a few years ago. In fact, tech is now being positioned as a key pillar in China’s future economy, repeatedly highlighted in official communications.

But what is seen as inspiring innovation in China is viewed by the United States as a threat.

Donald Trump is moving to ramp up restrictions, including more export controls on chips being sold to China.

Read more from Sky News:
What is DeepSeek?
China raises tariffs on US

Businesses in Hangzhou are of course aware of the trade war unfolding around them, many who export to America will take a significant hit, but most think they can cope.

Dr Song Ning is one of them. He proudly shows us his factory, which is integrated with the lab work and R&D side of his business.

His company, Diagens, uses AI to massively speed up medical diagnostics, cutting the time taken to run a chromosomal screening from 30 days to 4. He is also working on a chatbot called WiseDiag which has more advanced medical understanding and can be used by patients.

While they are actively seeking business in over 35 foreign countries, for now, the pursuit of American customers is on pause.

“Competition is a good thing… it makes us all stronger,” he says.

“I do not think by limiting the scientific and technological progress of China or other countries, Trump will be able to achieve his goal, I think it is a false premise.

“Information is so developed now, each country has very smart people, it will only force us to have more tech innovation.”

While individuals remain defiant, the trade war will still leave a big hole in China’s economy. Tech firms, however advanced, can’t yet fill that gap.

But the innovation here is rapid, and there is no doubt, it will leave its mark on the world.

World

Tens of thousands of the faithful to pay their respects to the Pope as he lies in state

Published

6 hours ago

April 23, 2025

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Tens of thousands of the faithful to pay their respects to the Pope as he lies in state

Mourners will be able to view the body of Pope Francis lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica from Wednesday, ahead of his funeral this weekend.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to the Vatican over the next three days to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

After his funeral on Saturday morning (9am UK time) there will be a nine-day period of mourning, known as the “novendiali”, after which the secretive meeting – called the conclave – will begin to elect a new pope.

Pope Francis: Follow the latest

The conclave to choose his successor must start between 5 and 10 May.

The first images of his body were released on Tuesday, showing him in red vestments and his bishop’s mitre in a wooden casket.

The Vatican secretary of state was shown praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.

Previous popes were entombed in three coffins: the first made of wood, another of lead and a third, again made of wood. But in 2024, Francis changed the rules and said that only one coffin, a wooden one lined in zinc, should be used.

In a break from tradition, he will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), according to his wishes.

Following the pope’s death, from a stroke and heart failure, world leaders have praised his moral leadership and compassion.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer described him as “a quite remarkable man, and the work and commitment that he put into fairness over so many years, and globally, I think will be a real lasting legacy”.

Francis leaves behind a more inclusive but also divided Catholic Church

by Barbara Serra, Sky News presenter in Rome

An institution like the Catholic Church, which is more than 2,000 years old and has changed leadership 266 times, is well-versed in managing transition.

But while the steps that follow a pope’s death may be strictly dictated by tradition, the mood is often very different, depending on the pope that is being replaced.

The word Catholic means universal, and it’s a good reminder of the challenge facing any pope – leading a congregation 1.4 billion strong from all over the world, with differing ideas about if and how change should happen, is far from easy.

The global demographics of Catholicism are changing rapidly. Pope Francis was keenly aware of this.

We often talk about him as progressive, but a more accurate term to describe his papacy would be “inclusive”.

World

Pope Francis’s final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Pope Francis's final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

Pope Francis died little more than half an hour after being taken ill, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

Pope Francis woke at 6am on Monday, and was fine for at least an hour, sources said, as they revealed details of the pontiff’s final moments.

Around 7am, the Vatican’s medical unit received an emergency call from his Casa Santa Marta apartment.

Pope latest – Prince William to attend funeral

An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.

A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.

Francis died at the age of 88, a day after making his final public appearance at St Peter’s Square, where he greeted crowds on Easter Sunday, one of the most important days of the Christian calendar.

The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.

Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.

The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.

Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.

The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.

He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.

In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.

Prince William will attend the funeral on behalf of King Charles, Kensington Palace has said.

Cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose his successor afterwards.

Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.

Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.