British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks with Valerie Muni during a visit to the Portmeirion factory in Stoke-on-Trent on January 14
The £1billion Brexit ‘bribe’: PM pledges cash for ‘left-behind’ towns in the North of England and Midlands in a bid to get Labour MPs to support her deal
Theresa May will today pledge to funnel nearly £1billion to ‘left-behind’ towns in the North and Midlands as part of a package of ‘bribes’ designed to persuade Labour MPs to back her Brexit deal.
The Prime Minister will unveil details of the new Stronger Towns Fund as she launches intensive efforts to woo Labour MPs in pro-Brexit seats.
Later this week, the Government will also unveil a new Workers’ Rights Bill designed to meet their demand to protect workplace rights after Brexit.
Is a ‘Brexit deal dividend’ on the way?
The Chancellor could be poised to increase public spending as part of a ‘Brexit deal dividend’ if MPs back the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal.
Philip Hammond has reportedly pledged to plough billions of pounds into the public purse if a no deal Brexit is averted.
In last year’s October budget, he said some of the £15.4bn set aside may have to be used in the event of no deal.
But buoyed by strong tax revenue, the Treasury could be given more room to increase public spending later this year, the Financial Times reported.
Treasury officials told the paper there will be no changes to spending or tax in next week’s Spring Statement, which will be announced in the midst of a series of Brexit votes.
In October 2018, the Chancellor said there would have to be a new Budget outlined if Britain left the EU without a deal.
He told Sky News: ‘We would need to look at a different strategy and frankly we’d need to have a new Budget that set out a different strategy for the future.’
Mrs May said last night that the new fund was needed to help parts of the country that had been left behind. ‘For too long in our country prosperity has been unfairly spread,’ she said.
‘Our economy has worked well for some places but we want it to work for all communities.
‘Communities across the country voted for Brexit as an expression of their desire to see change – that must be a change for the better, with more opportunity and greater control.
‘These towns have a glorious heritage, huge potential and, with the right help, a bright future ahead of them.’
The money will be used for improving infrastructure and putting in place retraining schemes for people in traditional industries that have closed down.
Downing Street rejected claims that the cash amounted to ‘bribes’, saying Mrs May had long believed in the importance of not allowing parts of the country to get ‘left behind’.
But critics accused the Prime Minister of offering cash in return for votes. Former Tory minister Anna Soubry said people would ‘see this fund for what it is – a desperate measure to buy votes’.
Miss Soubry, now Brexit spokesman for the Independent Group of MPs, added: ‘The support of the DUP was secured with a £1billion bung for votes to prop up the Government after it lost its majority.