Tory MPs urge Rishi Sunak to fast-track Levelling Up Bill or risk election defeat

A group of Conservative MPs have called on the prime minister to fast-track the Levelling Up Bill – or risk losing the next general election.

The East Midlands group – led by Ben Bradley, the MP for Mansfield – wrote to Rishi Sunak yesterday to share their concerns.

They centre around the government’s Levelling Up Bill, a cornerstone of the party’s 2019 election win, which is currently tied up in the House of Lords.

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The East Midlands MPs wants the bill to place a duty on the government to support devolution, create a new model for local authorities in England, give local authorities new powers and reform the planning system.

But its slow progress could impact Mr Sunak’s electoral hopes, according to the MPs.

They wrote: “If the government fails to pass this law… urgently, before the summer… our opportunity to seize this chance and deliver tangible, real-world benefits to our constituents ahead of the next general election will be lost.”

The group consists of Mr Bradley, as well as Tom Randall, Mark Fletcher, Pauline Latham, Nigel Mills, Heather Wheeler, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Maggie Throup, Darren Henry and one “private” Conservative MP.

They highlight the low levels of investment in the region between 2021 and 2022, saying that they need “access to opportunities now so that our constituents and businesses can make the best use of their talents to steer the country through the cost of living crisis, so that we, as East Midlands MPs, can demonstrate clearly on the doorstep what conservative policies mean in the real world for jobs, families and local investment”.

And they also criticised “Whitehall’s ‘one-size fits all’ approach” to managing devolved matters – a tacit broadside aimed at the Civil Service.

Their criticisms of the Civil Service align with those of hardline Brexit-backing Conservative MPs. Both Tory groups are now piling pressure on the prime minister.

The die-hard Brexit group, which includes the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, were left furious on Wednesday when the government announced it was no longer planning to scrap thousands of EU laws by the end of the year.

The government will instead aim to remove around 600 in the coming months.

Eurosceptics see this as Rishi Sunak reneging on one of his election pledges made in the Tory leadership race.

They have also sought to blame the Civil Service for dragging its feet when it comes to removing the laws.

In their letter to Mr Sunak, the East Midlands MPs said: “Brexit was a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our country to take back control and govern its own destiny.

“We know that your government understands that this was only the first chapter of our conservative and national renewal.

“Now, with the Levelling Up Bill, we will be able to give that control back to the people and the local businesses who know better than any government how to generate jobs and prosperity.”