Prime minister Boris Johnson

• PRIME minister Boris Johnson recently made a much-trailed major policy announcement on the subject of “levelling up” with regard to northern regions.

But rightly it went down like a damp squib for its lack of substance. What relevance does that have to Camden you may ask?

He chose to illustrate his theme by claiming that life expectancy in Glasgow is 10 years less than in Hart! You may ask where’s that? It turns out to be Fleet, in Hampshire, 422 miles south of Glasgow.

I have serious news for Johnson much closer to home. Life expectancy in Somers Town, Camden, has been consistently 10 years less for residents than for those who live in Belsize Park just three miles to the north.

And in Somers Town the propensity for drink and drugs is not the issue; unlike Glasgow.

The excellent Sunday Times writer Matthew Syed nailed it in his column on July 18 when he wrote perceptively: “…the majority of the poorest people live in rich areas. This is why levelling-up requires support for poorer individuals as well as poorer regions, or it will exacerbate inequality rather than address it.”

How true. Inner London has countless families living in poverty but cheek-by-jowl with high income households. Johnson’s superficial regional policy, in a nutshell, illustrates just how irretrievably out of touch is our PM.

PAUL BRAITHWAITE
Bartholomew Villas, NW5