Levelling Up the United Kingdom: executive summary

So the first sentence of the Levelling Up white paper’s executive summary is very long, surveying the UK from a Johnsonian perspective. Here’s the first bit:

The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story – a multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-ethnic state with the world’s best broadcaster; a vibrantly creative arts sector; a National Health Service which guarantees care for every citizen…

You will of course note that these pillars of the British state were either created by socialist Labour administrations, or attacked and undermined by Conservative governments; including Johnson’s.

That a government purports one thing while doing another is hardly surprising. However, it is at least instructive that this is how Johnson’s government sees the UK; or, more accurately, what it thinks its citizens value. Note that these broadly universal features of the UK are listed before the more traditional Conservative values of charitable giving, personal morality and entrepreneurialism. The sentence ends:

… charities and voluntary groups which perform a million acts of kindness daily; globally renowned scientists extending the boundaries of knowledge every year; entrepreneurs developing the products and services which bring joy and jobs to so many; and millions of citizens whose kindness and compassion has been so powerfully displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.