There have been many attempts to do something about the large disparities between English regions. So perhaps it is not surprising that like many commentators I can see echoes of the past in the Government’s “Levelling Up” White Paper, published last week.

I played my own small part in having a go at addressing the issue when, twenty years ago, I worked on another white paper, called “Your Region, Your Choice”. That was produced by a Labour Government but there are, nonetheless, strong parallels between the two documents.

 For example, the 2002 proposals set out a devolution package based loosely on the model of the newly created Greater London Authority. The 2022 version starts from the same place, although the offer this time is to cities rather than regions, and to mayors rather than assemblies.