Half of people think Conservative policies would have a negative impact on their local economy over the next five years, a think-tank has found.
A survey by the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) found that the pessimistic view of Tory policy was widespread in the UK but particularly acute among people in former industrial heartlands, where 58% of people said they believed it would negatively impact their local area.
The most common view on Labour was that the party ‘will make little difference’ (36%).
The CPP found ‘widespread scepticism’ about the ability of all tiers of government to improve economic conditions for local areas, but found that mayors fared best.
Overall, just 8% of people said central government policy would positively impact their local area, with just 38% believing it would be negative.
Of those living in metro mayoral areas, 21% believed regional mayors could have a positive impact, though 24% remained pessimistic.
On local government overall, 15% of people said it would have a positive impact, while 31% said it would be negative.
The CPP said the survey paints a ‘deeply fractured picture’ across the UK. London was the only part of the country with a more positive than negative outlook over the next five years.
CPP director of research and policy Ben Franklin said: ‘As a damning indictment of the Government’s levelling up agenda, levels of distrust were felt most strongly in those areas that were supposed to be a core focus for policy action – particularly in former industrial areas, while the general local economic outlook remains bleak in areas of the North and those with the highest deprivation levels.’
