Johnson to present ‘forgotten Britain’ upgrade plan

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will support today the “upgrade” of Britain’s forgotten regions, without, however, damaging the already prosperous regions, by presenting his central policy plans, which helped him win the election.

Johnson won the 2019 election largely with the support of voters in areas of England struggling to survive, and will present his vision, which he believes will ease the pressure on other densely populated areas of the country.

The British economy is dominated by London and the south-east, and a 2020 government survey found that productivity gaps between the British capital and other parts of the UK are almost as wide as they were. in 1901.

Several governments have argued but failed to bring more jobs and prosperity to the areas around the former industrial cities of the North of England, and Johnson has promised to “upgrade” them in part by increasing infrastructure spending.

Boris Johnson: “We do not want to deprive other areas of opportunities”

“We do not want to deprive other regions of opportunities,” he said in a speech to the West Midlands metropolitan county in central England today, according to excerpts from his office.

“We do not think we can make the country’s poorer areas richer by lowering richer areas into poverty.”

Johnson will argue that previous governments have directed investment in areas where housing prices were already high, with congestion in transportation.

He hopes that by investing in low-growth areas, people will not have to move to secure better jobs.

“We will have made progress in Upgrading when we begin to improve living standards, diffuse opportunities, improve our public services and restore people’s sense of pride in their communities,” Johnson said.

Having been hit hard by the pandemic in early 2020, Johnson has so far given few concrete examples of how he hopes to change the fate of his country’s poorest cities as his government seeks to invest in green. economy, but also in attracting foreign investment.

The effort has been boosted in recent weeks by news that Nissan and Stellantis are planning to increase their investment in Britain by building a battery plant and an electric truck in the northeast and northwest of the country respectively.

Britain lags behind other major European countries in the fight to produce batteries for new energy vehicles in the future. Coventry Airport in the West Midlands is also seeking to become the site of a giant factory.

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