What about towns and villages, asks Jerome Mayhew MP
Each week the New Social Covenant Unit recognises a Member of Parliament for their covenantal credentials as spotted on the green benches.
This week, the MP for Broadland, Jerome Mayhew, asked the Minister of State, Kemi Badenoch if ‘levelling up’ is more than a transfer of resources from South to North but rather:
“that it spreads the opportunities often seen in cities to the towns and villages of our communities, as part of the wider social covenant?”
The social covenant to which Jerome refers is the agreement inherited from history and passed on to future generations, to sustain our common life by strengthening the family, community and nation.
Jerome’s question highlighted a bias in the dominant economic theory that inspires geographical mobility (ie to cities), but not necessarily social mobility. Places are sticky: people would rather stay connected to the places and people they love and care for, than ‘get on their bikes’ to find work in remote cities. Government should honour this and ensure that opportunity is evenly spread.