Tories stand accused as Oldham gets nothing from £400m kitty

‘This is simply naked cronyism’ - Councillor Sykes

CASH-STRAPPED Oldham Council will receive nothing from a £400million kitty to help local authorities - but Conservative-led Trafford will get almost £500,000.

Lib-Dems are demanding answers over the £400 million relief fund aimed at helping councils cope with the transition from “dependence” on the Government. The money will be distributed among local authorities over the next two years.

But there is no money for Oldham - despite significant continuing government cuts putting the council under more and more pressure.

Analysis found that 83 per cent of the two-year fund would go to Conservative-run councils, with Surrey, Hampshire and Hertfordshire getting substantial sums.

Oxfordshire County Council, which covers the Prime Minister David Cameron’s Witney constituency, will receive an extra £9 million.

The five most deprived councils in the country — Middlesbrough, Knowsley, Hull, Liverpool and Manchester — will receive nothing.

Councillor Sykes said: “Quite clearly we have seen here a Conservative Government trying to curry favour among Conservative council leaders by offering them this bribe to keep quiet about spending cuts.

“Trafford Council, which is one of the richest in our region, got almost half a million pounds yet Oldham, a deprived borough, has received nothing because its political hue isn’t blue.”

The Evening Chronicle reported last month that Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon slammed the distribution of the funding as he spoke in the House of Commons debate.

Mr McMahon said the latest settlement was a case of offering a “friends and family discount” to Tories.