Furious MPs have condemned the decision to award an extra £19 million to Rishi Sunak’s wealthy constituency while poorer parts of the country missed out.
The levelling up department accepted the bid for extra cash to improve Catterick town centre in Richmond, north Yorkshire.
It was included in £2 billion-worth of levelling up funding given to hundreds of projects across the UK.
Incredibly, it is the second time the area has been successful in bidding for the cash.
During last summer’s Tory leadership campaign, Sunak boasted about diverting money away from “deprived urban areas” when he was chancellor.
In the House of Commons today, opposition MPs condemned the decision to give more cash to the PM’s seat while their areas failed to secure extra funding.
Stephanie Peacock, the Labour MP for Barnsley East, said: “Barnsley East has been rejected for funding again, yet the prime minister’s wealthy constituency has received funding in both rounds.
“Will the minister stop pretending that levelling up funding is about helping areas that need it most and accept there are serious questions to answer about how and where it is allocated?”
Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West, said: “I had to wake up this morning to hear on the news that the Rishi Riches of Richmond received funding a second time - having their mouths stuffed with gold.
“He flew into my constituency in a private jet, drove in a limousine past the cold council houses and the people of Leeds’s six bids got no money.”
Gavin Newlands, the SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: “How is it possible that areas of multiple deprivation can miss out while the prime minister’s constituency - which is one of the wealthiest in the UK - nabs £19 million?”
It came as ministers have defended London and the South East getting the largest share of the funding, receiving £362 million compared to the North West’s £354 million, £109 million for the North East and £177 million for Scotland.
But Sunak – who was criticised today for taking a private jet from London to Blackpool – defended the money awarded to his constituency.
Speaking to broadcasters in a visit to Accrington, the prime minister said: “If you look at the overall funding in the levelling up funds that we’ve done, about two-thirds of all that funding has gone to the most deprived part of our country.
“With regard to Catterick Garrison, the thing you need to know is that’s home to our largest army base and it’s home to actually thousands of serving personnel who are often away from their own families serving our country.
“It’s important that they have access to a town centre providing the amenities they need – that’s what that funding is going to deliver.
“I’m really grateful to all our armed forces personnel for the incredible job that they do and I’m delighted that this investment will support them.”
Meanwhile, a Tory mayor has launched an outspoken attack on the levelling up policy.
Andy Street accused ministers of creating a “begging bowl culture” over the distribution of taxpayers’ money around the UK.
Street, who is the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, hit out after hois region came eighth with £155.6 million.
Street said most of the funding bids made from his area had been rejected, with “some of our most deprived areas” missing out.
He said local politicians, rather than civil servants in Whitehall, should decide where the cash goes.
In a statement on Twitter, he said: “Fundamentally, this episode is just another example as to why Whitehall’s bidding and begging-bowl culture is broken, and the sooner we can decentralise and move to proper fiscal devolution the better.”