Tory jitters mount at Johnson's political drift

Thin substance in PM’s ‘levelling up’ speech adds to discontent about government’s lack of direction as parliament breaks for the summer

- Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot

Boris Johnson’s levelling up speech in Coventry last Thursday was billed as the moment the prime minister would set out the substance behind the central idea of his premiership.

In the event, he announced £50m ($ 68m) for community football pitches and 15 more high-street upgrades, and mused about the potential benefits of “mayors” for counties, asking the public to email him if they had a better name. There was much characteristic enthusiasm but little policy meat.

Some southern MPs were reassured by his message that he doesn’t want to “level down” affluent areas. But for other Conservatives, the lack of substance was a sign of broader political drift at the heart of government.

“I was very, very surprised at how poor Johnson’s speech was,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London. “I would have thought that was an opportunity to set out the government’s stall and go back to the manifesto that won them the election in 2019.

“The fact it was so poor suggests they really haven’t made much progress in thinking about how they are going to deliver those promises.”

Whether on Covid restrictions or overseas aid, the prime minister has seen shifting groups of rebels repeatedly take bites out of what should be a comfortable majority of 80. And he has irked other backbenchers by finding himself on the wrong side of the culture war over footballers facing down racism.