Stephanie Peacock, Member of Parliament for Barnsley East, has called the Government’s commitment to levelling up ‘token’, as new statistics show Barnsley to be £30m worse off in real terms than 3 years ago.

Since the Government’s plans to ‘level up’ the country were announced in 2018, each of Barnsley’s bids for levelling up funding have been rejected, despite being in need of support on every objective measure.

Having received no money from this fund, the town has seen a real terms loss in allocations of £29.3m.

Ms Peacock said:

“Though the idea of ‘levelling up’ is welcome in principle, it means nothing if places like Barnsley are being left even worse off than before.

We need to change the settlement of our country back in favour of those who built it. This means providing enough funding in Barnsley to ensure good jobs are available, high streets and businesses can thrive, houses are affordable, and the streets are safe from rampant anti-social behaviour.

Until we see these changes on the ground, levelling up will continue to be no more than a token phrase.”