THE Tory leadership contest shows the Tory commitment to “levelling up” is dead, Labour said today as the party accused candidates of “vying for Margaret Thatcher’s mantle.” 

The leadership race, which has seen hopefuls engage in an arms race over tax cuts and deregulation, is the “final nail in the coffin” for Tory plans to close the gap between the rich and the poor in some parts of the country, shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said. 

Britain is one of the most geographically unequal countries among the world’s wealthiest nations, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.