Levelling up: Grant awarded to Tory donor is not amusing – reactions

In news that will anger a lot of people it has been revealed that a £150,000 grant from Boris Johnson’s levelling up towns fund was awarded to an amusement centre launched by the Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin,

Chernukhin, has given more than £2m to the Tories since 2014 and is married to a former Russian finance minister, co-founded the Owens entertainment centre in Hastings, East Sussex.

The centre received £150,000 from the government’s towns fund in October after a tender process, through a company called C&O Entertainment.

Another £250,000 went to the developer behind the refurbishment of the former Debenhams building in the town.

Reactions

1.

An amusement centre handed £150,000 by Boris Johnson’s “levelling up fund”, was co-founded by the wife of Putin’s former finance minister, who has given more than £2 million to the Conservative party. https://t.co/726J15yZfE

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 7, 2023

2.

We have become a deeply abnormal country. https://t.co/Z7UDBOmoUU

— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) June 7, 2023

3.

It would be more newsworthy to find a government contract which didn't go to a Tory donor, Tory spouse, or Tory drinking buddy. https://t.co/ZzV9W0iBoR

— Phil (@Philmoorhouse76) June 7, 2023

4.

They are not even bothering to hide their corruption now, they know there are no consequences https://t.co/ngbcH7LLEk

— RS Archer (@archer_rs) June 7, 2023

5.

Remember when you had to be at least a little bit subtle when doing a corruption? https://t.co/GX4ncTsJGX

— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) June 7, 2023

Levelling Up

MPs howled in laughter as Michael Gove commended Boris Johnson’s leadership on levelling up in the Commons.

The former PM made an appearance during communities questions calling on the government to accelerate levelling-up measures such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, planning reform and devolution.

Mr Gove, who is the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, began his response by thanking Mr Johnson for his involvement on the issue.

Mr Johnson said: “Given that the UK is one of the most regionally imbalanced of all the major economies and given the massive potential that is waiting to be unleashed, is it not time to accelerate the Levelling Up Bill now stalled and push forward urgently with Northern Powerhouse Rail, planning reform, devolution, secure affordable energy supply, gigabit broadband and all the other levelling-up measures that will make this the strongest and most prosperous economy in Europe?”

Watch

MPs in the Commons burst out in laughter as Michael Gove thanks @BorisJohnson for the 'leadership he has shown' on levelling up

The former PM says the policy can make the UK the 'the strongest and most prosperous economy in Europe' pic.twitter.com/d4ouirOjSa

— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) June 5, 2023

Related: Levelling down? Regional newspapers slam govt as funds ‘funnelled’ to Tory constituencies