Wolverhampton: A day in the 'levelling up' capital
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 August 2022
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is levelling up over? Boris Johnson's big promise – to fix the country's regional inequalities – might have ended with his government. We visit Wolverhampton, aka levelling up HQ, to see what the programme has done so far – and what is at risk of being lost.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.
Guests:
- Steve Chatha, Wolverhampton resident.
- Jane Stevenson, Conservative MP for Wolverhampton North East.
- Mark Andrews, Senior Feature Writer for the Express & Star.
Host: Sathnam Sanghera, columnist and feature writer, The Times.
Clips: Euro News, BBC News, Sky News.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Manvine. With the Tory leadership contest at Feverpitch, none of the rhetoric |
| 0:08.2 | around the future of the Tory party seems to be addressing what was supposed to be one |
| 0:12.7 | of Boris Johnson's defining policies. Today, I'm handing over to my colleague, Satnam |
| 0:18.9 | Sangerra, who's investigating whatever happened to levelling up. |
| 0:29.7 | Boris Johnson may be more divisive than Marmite, but most people would admit that he was |
| 0:34.2 | pretty good at slogans. We'll never forget, get Brexit done, and sheer endless repetition |
| 0:40.2 | means his government will forever be associated with the idea of levelling up. |
| 0:45.6 | If you ask yourselves, what is this new government going to do? What is he going to do with |
| 0:49.7 | the extraordinary majority? I will tell you, we are going to unite and level up. |
| 0:54.6 | Unite and level up. |
| 0:59.2 | When Boris Johnson swept to power in 2019, he committed his government to fixing Britain's |
| 1:04.1 | huge regional inequalities. When I visited my hometown in Wolverhampton, I bet a local |
| 1:10.1 | journalist at the Prime Minister wouldn't be around to see the fruits of his levelling |
| 1:14.4 | up legacy just five days later. It is clearly now the will of the Parliamentary Conservative |
| 1:21.6 | Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new Prime Minister. |
| 1:28.7 | I should have put cash on it. |
| 1:30.5 | So what now is levelling up over? I hope not, but if it is, where does this leave places |
| 1:42.1 | like Wolverhampton? I'm Satinam Sangheera, columnist for the Times and a proud Wolfruinian. |
| 1:49.2 | You are listening to stories of our times. Today, Wolverhampton, a day in the levelling |
| 1:55.4 | up capital. |
| 2:01.0 | Let me start by saying something we don't hear enough. I love Wolverhampton. |
| 2:13.4 | So much so that I treat it very every other day, mention it in features every other week, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.