North-west Labour MPs could rebel over funding for councils

Keir Starmer is facing another potential rebellion as Labour MPs from northwest towns urge the government to give their local councils more money over the next three years.

- Kiran Stacey Patrick Butler

Anneliese Midgley, the MP for Knowsley, has said the provisional settlement does not meet her constituents' needs

(HOUSE OF COMMONS/PA)

A group of Labour MPs from the Liverpool city region has written to the local government secretary, Steve Reed, urging him to change the recent three-year local funding settlement, which they say unfairly penalises northern towns.

Their letter has been bolstered by a similar one from Steve Rotheram, the Labour mayor of the Liverpool city region, also urging Reed to put more money into northern towns such as Wigan, Warrington and St Helen’s.

Some MPs say they could vote against the settlement in the Commons to try to force the government’s hand. One said: “This is causing a lot of angst among northwestern MPs, a lot of whom are facing a challenge from Reform UK at the next election and need their constituents to be able to feel the effect of the investment the government is putting in.”