Today the PM Rishi Sunak announced more projects for ‘levelling up’ the UK.
However, he has already had to rejected claims the allocation of more than £2 billion in taxpayers’ money for local projects was skewed towards more affluent areas including Sunak’s own constituency.
He said: “If you look at the overall funding in the levelling-up funds that we’ve done, about two-thirds of all that funding has gone to the most deprived part of our country.”
He launched the video and wrote: “Today we are announcing new funding to more than 100 projects across the UK, as part of our #LevellingUp Fund. By investing in local areas, we can grow our economy and build pride in the places we call home.”
Yorkshire
There is already a lot of people labelling the scheme a sham.
For example, Six projects in Yorkshire totalling over £120 million have been green-lit by Westminster under the latest round of the Levelling Up Fund, while the South East of the country was awarded over £210 million, reports the Yorkshire Post.
However, Richmondshire, covering the Sunak’s constituency of Richmond in, was given almost £20 million in funding.
With this in mind Kay Burley demanded to know why this was the case. She asked Michael Gove why: “Rishi Sunak’s constituency is receiving £19m, the Surrey of the North, with income deprivation of 22% as opposed to Blackpool at 61%?”
Gove also told Times Radio: “It’s simply untrue that the levelling up fund is concentrated disproportionately on London and the south-east.”
He added: “If you look per capita at the amount we’re spending, the biggest winners are those in the north-west – and of course, yes there is some spending in London and the south-east, but there are some areas of deprivation in London and the south-east. But it’s overwhelmingly the case that the areas that benefit the most are the north-west, the north-east and the east Midlands.”
Belt up!
It was Femi who pointed out something else slightly bizarre.
He tweeted: “It’s so STUPID! Because yeah, I get the strategy… Get everyone talking about how you’re not wearing a seatbelt, to distract people from the economic harm you’ve inflicted on people…
But all this does is remind people that Rishi Sunak was a law breaker during lockdown too!”
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