Post-Brexit regional policy in England: exploring ‘Levelling Up’ in practice

’Levelling Up’ has come to dominate debates around regional inequality in England but has been criticised for lacking clarity and definition. This paper addresses this critique by providing an early assessment of the concept. It summarises and critically reviews Levelling Up, arguing that the concept offers a mix of marginal and familiar policies, alongside aspirations for industrial policy and research and development. Furthermore, Levelling Up begins to diverge from recent policy in its spatial focus and approach to governance and devolution. As governments in Europe and the US grapple with similar challenges the paper has value beyond a UK audience.