John McDonnell set outs plan to 'level back' council funding in Yorkshire with regional Barnett formula

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is calling for the Budget to introduce the Barnett Formula at a regional level to ‘level back’ lost millions from local authorities, after councils in Yorkshire saw their central Government support cut by more than £800m in the past seven years.
By Chris Burn
Published 22nd Oct 2021, 20:09 BST
Updated 22nd Oct 2021, 20:14 BST

The formula is currently used to give UK Government funding to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mr McDonnell said: “We’ve heard so much talk from the Prime Minister about levelling up. What I’m saying is we actually need to start levelling back some of the cuts that have been made. I want investment for the future guaranteed by law.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The calculation of how much they have taken away from councils since 2010 is £100bn. Let's not have any more publicity stunts around levelling up - what about levelling back? That cut has meant in almost every area the closure of children's centres, libraries and local facilities."

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

He said that to level up every UK nation and region to London’s level of funding would require an additional £30 billion in annual capital investment. Mr McDonnell said his "number crunching" showed that Yorkshire and the Humber would need an extra £3.67 billion in capital funding per year in

order to level up with London. He said the region received £694 less per person in capital funding per year compared with London.

“Capital spending must be guaranteed to spread more fairly and evenly, in the way the Barnett Formula distributes funding for the devolved governments,” he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"For too long Westminster politicians have promised a lot to the north but delivered little. A Barnett formula for the north would force them to deliver a fair deal and would protect future investment levels. No longer would regions outside of London be reliant on the whims and publicity stunts of ministers in Whitehall.”

Mr McDonnell insisted it was "not a big demand".

"I think it is inevitable that something like this is going to happen because people have had enough. Introducing a Barnett formula would guarantee investment levels for the future."

Read more:

Jeremy Corbyn backs Jon Trickett's plan for £200bn wealth tax

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.

Related topics:YorkshireGovernmentLondonPrime Minister