Yvette Cooper says government is 'playing political games' by leaving Knottingley out of £3.6 billion fund to improve towns

Four Yorkshire towns in marginal constituencies were chosen to share part of a £3.6bn regeneration fund despite being deemed 'low-priority' under the Government's own criteria, a watchdog's report has revealed.

Stocksbridge, Brighouse, Todmorden and Morley, all of which were in battleground seats at last year's General Election, were among the towns invited to bid for up to £25m from the Towns Fund last year.

But a report by the National Audit Office said they were among the towns selected for the scheme despite getting a low score on the criteria used by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to decide which areas most needed the money.

Ms Cooper, said: “Instead of investing in the towns that need it most, it turns out the Tories have been playing political games to help their mates instead.

"I’ve been calling for proper investment in our towns and for an end to austerity that has destroyed so many of our local services for years, and I’ve been to see several Tory Ministers to call on them to include Knottingley in the list, but we were rejected last year.

"Now this independent report from the National Audit Office shows that Knottingley was deliberately left out by Ministers even though it scored highest in the criteria for selection.

"Instead they gave the money to places which didn't have as high a need for investment just in order to boost support for Tory MPs.

"Using public money for political games like this is appalling. We need a proper plan for investment in our towns, not just a plan for Tory MPs”.

But the Government denies claims that nine out of 10 towns were ruled out of the competition for funding with no explanation. A spokesman said: "There were many factors to consider in the selection of towns and we are confident the process we took was comprehensive, robust and fair."

In total 101 towns across England were chosen to bid for up to £25m from the Towns Fund last September, with the amount of money ultimately awarded depending on the strength of investment plans drawn up locally.

The Government says the funding will help local leaders "transform their town’s economic growth prospects with a focus on improved transport, broadband connectivity, skills and culture".

The Yorkshire towns of Castleford, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Goldthorpe, Keighley, Rotherham, Scarborough and Stainforth were selected automatically after being graded as high priority by MHCLG.

Brighouse, Morley, Stocksbridge and Todmorden were chosen despite being rated as 'low-priority' and Goole, Shipley, Wakefield and Whitby made the list after being ranked as 'medium-priority'.