Rishi Sunak has been accused of “naked pork barrel politics” after billions of pounds of Budget handouts appeared to favour Tory-held constituencies.
At a Downing Street press conference, the Chancellor was asked why 40 of 45 places receiving £1bn of ‘towns fund’ grants are represented by his own party’s MPs.
Meanwhile, the leafy Richmondshire borough – which falls within Mr Sunak’s North Yorkshire seat – has been given higher priority for a new £4.8bn ‘levelling up fund’ than struggling Barnsley.
Mr Sunak was asked to reassure the public that he was using “fair criteria” to assess eligibility – or “whether this looks a little bit like naked pork barrel politics”.
In reply, he insisted decisions were made “based on an index of economic need, which is transparently published”.