Boris Johnson's flagship levelling up plan has been likened to the "Hunger Games", with struggling northern councils being forced to fight it out for Government cash.
The comments came as MPs debated the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which promises to ''drive local growth and ensure everyone can share in the United Kingdom’s success', for the first time today. Wigan MP Lisa Nandy poured scorn over the Bill, saying it did little to reverse the decade of austerity endured by the region's local authorities.
And the Shadow Levelling Up Secretary blasted the Government's competitive approach to awarding funding via a number of special schemes, such as the towns fund, high street fund and shared prosperity fund.
