‘Levelling up’ report authored by 10 Conservative MPs calls for a ‘new chapter’ of conservatism

A new report written by 10 MPs who entered parliament at the 2019 election urges the government to put power in the hands of communities in order to “level up”.

Entitled: “Trusting the People: the case for community-powered conservatism”, the report argues that money alone will solve the problems facing the country.

The report makes the case for “a ‘double devolution’ of power from local councils into the hands of local people”. It also calls for so-called “Community Covenants”, signed between a council and local people, to help ensure power is shared.

The paper is co-authored by the backbench Conservative MPs: Siobhan Baillie, Miriam Cates, Nick Fletcher, Jo Gideon, Jonathan Gullis, Paul Howell, Jerome Mayhew, Robin Millar, Kieran Mullan and Jane Stevenson.

Levelling up

Following the report’s publication, Jerome Mayhew, the MP for Broadland in Norfolk, said “Community power is the logical conclusion of Brexit. People who voted Leave in 2016 voted to take back control not just of our borders and laws, but of our communities and society itself”.

Michael Gove will present the paper at the Conservative party conference fringe at 5pm today.