Boris Johnson’s 'levelling up' plans unlikely to succeed, says watchdog

Industrial Strategy Council says plan relies too heavily on infrastructure spending and one-off funding

A government watchdog led by the Bank of England's chief economist has said Boris Johnson's plans for levelling up" Britain are unlikely to succeed because they rely too heavily on infrastructure spending and one-off funding schemes controlled from Westminster.

Pouring cold water on the prime minister's election promise to rebalance Britain's regionally lopsided economy, the Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) said the levelling-up agenda risked failure even though its ambitions were vague and would struggle to stand up to scrutiny.

Related: Tories accused of levelling up 'stitch-up' over regional deprivation fund