The Government's flagship super-deduction policy stands to benefit London and the South East the most, says Ben Franklin – and it is not explicitly targeted at the most deprived communities in the capital

Imagine a government swept to power on the promise of finally rebalancing our disjointed regional economic landscape. No more prioritisation of London and the South East, much more investment to spur on productivity growth in the North and the Midlands. This was in essence what Boris Johnson meant by levelling up – a generational effort to improve the lot of left-behind regions and towns. That dream now lies in tatters.