The Government's 'Towns Fund' is not even new money but taken from the budgets of overstretched departments - McDonnell

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the OBR’s confirmation that the Government’s ‘Stronger Towns Fund’ announced last week is not new money and will be met from within existing departmental budgets, said:

“This failing Tory Government reached a new low in attempting to buy the votes of Labour MPs for its failed Brexit deal with the announcement of its so called ‘Towns Fund’ last week.

"We now know that the token amounts offered to Labour MPs was not even new money but taken from the budgets of overstretched departments already savaged by nine years of austerity.

"The Chancellor’s shameful attempts at bribery, giving with one hand while taking with another, demeans the office he holds.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• ·         Page 97 of the OBR report confirms the cost of Stronger Towns Fund will be met from within existing DEL totals in 2019-20 and 2020-21: https://cdn.obr.uk/March-2019_EFO_Web-Accessible.pdf

• ·         The Institute of Fiscal Studies' Carl Emmerson confirmed yesterday that the £1.6 billion ‘Stronger Towns Fund’ was to be “found entirely from existing spending totals in 2019−20 and 2020−21”: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/Spring%20Statement%202019%20modest%20windfall%20banked%20%28for%20now%29.pdf