Around 70pc of the Levelling Up funding pledged to constituencies in England is going to areas that have a Conservative MP, analysis by The Northern Agenda has revealed.
The government has not announced the constituencies which will benefit directly from the Levelling Up awards in round two. However, The Northern Agenda has found that there are 74 awards in England which can be matched to a particular Parliamentary constituency.
Of these 74 constituencies, 50 are currently held by Conservative MPs, 23 by Labour, and one Independent. A total of £1.46bn is going to the 74 constituencies in England in Levelling Up awards, and 70pc of that total - £1.02bn - is going to constituencies held by Conservative MPs.
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One of just six projects to get funding in Yorkshire is in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's wealthy constituency of Richmond - which has been awarded more than £19 million for the regeneration of Catterick Garrison town centre - including new routes for walking and cycling, a new town square, and a new community facility that will host new businesses, as well as a community kitchen.
It was also announced that the South East will benefit to the sum of £210.5m - with London set to receive £151.3m - while the North East has been allocated just £108.5m. The North West was the biggest beneficiary, with £354m pledged to the area.
In Greater Manchester, around £60 million was awarded, with bids in Wigan, Oldham, and Partington in Trafford all being successful. However other boroughs such as Manchester, Bolton, Rochdale, and Stockport missed out.
Expressing his disappointment at Bolton missing out on funding, Greater Manchester's only Conservative council leader Coun Martyn Cox said: “Council officers and elected members worked extremely hard on putting these bids together. It is very disappointing that at no stage of the process did we get any feedback or guidance from ministers or staff at the DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities).
"We will be making our deep disappointment known at every level of government.”
Slamming the current method of allocating funds as 'completely unfunctional' and questioning why places like Richmond and Dorset were chosen, Coun Cox added: "We had two very strong bids and thought we had a very good chance with both - one in particular. That one - Le Mans Crescent - was shortlisted and that is the one we really want to do. But it is fair to say that we did get a large amount of money from the town centres fund not too long ago.
"It is disappointing because we have to spend an inordinate amount of time putting these bids together. I am really on board with levelling up but the current method is completely unfunctional.
"Are you really levelling up Richmond to Bolton? And then you have Dorset, which won almost £20m for an enhanced marina. What's all that about?"
A government spokesman said: “The Levelling Up Fund is investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, spreading opportunity to historically overlooked areas. All projects were subject to a rigorous assessment process under robust, fair and transparent rules, with no involvement of local MPs in the selection process.”
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