Levelling up secretary Michael Gove unveiled the plans as part of the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper, which documents the plan to transform some parts of the UK that have fallen behind economically.
The plans will see the country’s local public transport systems “becoming much closer to London standards” and enable a “large majority of the country” to gain access to 5G broadband.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised the installation of full-fibre, gigabit-capable broadband in every home and business across the UK by 2025. This pledge was later downgraded to just 85 per cent of premises in the UK, although this 5G expansion could help to fill some of the remaining gaps.
The White Paper also outlined plans to boost domestic R&D investment outside the South East by at least 40 per cent by 2030, with hopes that the funds could also drive an increase in private investment in these areas too.
Gove’s Labour counterpart, Lisa Nandy, said...