Rishi Sunak has been caught boasting about removing money from "deprived urban areas" and giving it to other wealthy towns across the country.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer was filmed speaking at a Tory event in Tunbridge Wells, Kent last week where he blamed Labour for putting cash into areas of the country that need it most.
One of Boris Johnson 's flagship policies has been Levelling Up the country, which is a bid to give more power and resources to other parts of the UK outside of London.
In the leaked clip shared by The New Statesman, Sunak says: "I managed to start changing the funding formula to make sure that areas like this are getting the funding that they deserve.
"We inherited a bunch of formulas from the Labour Party and shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas. That needed to be undone. I started work on undoing that."
A number of Labour politicians jumped on the video by saying the government's Levelling Up agenda in dead in the water.
Shadow Levelling Up secretary Lisa Nandy took to Twitter to say: "This is scandalous. Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers’ money to rich Tory shires.
"This is our money. It should be spent fairly and where it’s most needed - not used as a bribe to Tory members. Talk about showing your true colours…"
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, tweeted: "By his own admission Rishi Sunak, does not believe in levelling up. He has also admitted he is prepared to take money from poorer areas to support wealthy towns."
Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, Southfields and Roehampton, said: "Sunak says this against the backdrop of heightened foodbank use, stagnant wages and rising poverty. This must be remembered at the next General Election."
Labour MSP Neil Bibby said: "Labour invest in and level up our deprived urban communities.
"The Tories take that money away. Rishi Sunak said it himself. That’s one of the key differences between a Labour Government and a Tory Government."
While the SNP's Alison Thewliss said: "Rishi Sunak has been honest with Tory party members about his plans for the future, but not with the general public.
"Beyond the rhetoric, it's clear that regardless of who becomes the next Prime Minister, their goal is to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
"With the Westminster government failing to properly tackle the cost of living crisis, it's clear that Scotland needs the full powers of independence more urgently than ever, to properly protect households and build a fairer and more prosperous society."
PA has reported that Sunak's campaign did not dispute the video and instead defended its content.
A campaign source said: "Levelling up isn't just about city centres, it's also about towns and rural areas all over the country that need help too. That's what he changed in the Green Book and he will follow through as Prime Minister.
"Travelling around the country, he's seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus services, faster broadband, or high quality schools. That's what he'll deliver as Prime Minister."
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