With all eyes focused on the ‘Whitehall parties scandal', it's easy to forget the challenges communities across the country are facing in their day-to-day lives. IPPR North's flagship State of the North Report brings us back to the real world. Two years after the General Election, rhetoric about levelling up is high – but the Government has been missing in action. Our inequalities are growing and the UK is becoming more and more centralised.

Where power lies matters. Overcentralisation affects our economy. For example, for every job created in the North, just under three were created in London and the ‘Greater South East'. This has significant consequences for people: in-work poverty has risen in the North from 3.4 million people in 2009-10, to 3.5 million in 2019-20. It also impacts on local government's ability to provide services.