£1bn to ‘level up’ towns … but Tories already cut £2.4bn

Slashed budgets since 2010 outweigh the help announced for 45 local authorities

It was supposed to redraw the economic map of Britain. But funding announced by Rishi Sunak last week for 45 struggling towns across England is worth less than half the amount cut from their local budgets under the Conservatives, according to an Observer analysis.

Using the budget to restart the government's levelling-up agenda after dealing with the Covid pandemic, the chancellor announced 1bn of funding from the flagship towns fund" for communities including Castleford, Rochdale and Wolverhampton.