Riven by scandal and division, the Tories have all but abandoned levelling up | John Harris

Boris Johnson's defining mission' is nowhere to be seen. This is a huge opportunity for Labour to seize the initiative

Amid the scandal, farce and disarray enveloping Boris Johnson's government, one sudden and glaring absence seems to have been rather overlooked. Levelling up was endlessly talked about between 2019 and early 2022. It was hailed as a daring Tory stride into Labour territory, honoured with a renamed ministry commanded by Michael Gove, and somewhat unconvincingly explained in the 330-page white paper that was finally published in February.

Back then, Johnson insisted that levelling up remained his defining mission". But only three months on, ministers barely use the term. It received only the most glancing mention at the tail end of Rishi Sunak's spring statement, and was entirely absent from the pre-Easter government update" that Johnson gave to the House of Commons about a fortnight ago, assuring MPs of his regrets about Partygate and his determination to get on with the job, whatever that is. Though the idea is not quite dead, it now seems to have lost so much urgency and substance that it is quickly withering away.