A FUND to replace EU economic aid after Brexit must not poured into Tory-dominated parts of southern England to shore up support for the party, the Prime Minister has been warned.
Theresa May has promised to introduce a UK Shared Prosperity Fund when European funding comes to an end once the Britain leaves the EU.
The UK Tory General Election manifesto stated that the party "will use the structural fund money that comes back to the UK following Brexit to create a United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund, specifically designed to reduce inequalities between communities across our four nations.”
However, Labour MSP Richard Leonard warned that Scotland must get its fair share of any cash that comes back. He warned the Tory government against seeking to "manipulate funds for party political gain".
He said the fund must not “skewer support to southern marginals” to help the Tories cling onto power at the next General Election.
Over the current European funding period, from 2014–20, Scotland has been allocated £787 million – the equivalent of £110m a year in “structural” funds to offset economic deficiencies.
Leonard said Scotland must not be disadvantaged under the new arrangements, when the funding levels are agreed for eventually different parts of the UK.
Leonard, vice convenor of Holyrood's All-party Group on Industrial Communities, said the cash should be targeted at areas that suffered major job losses due to pit and steel closures in the 1980s and 1990s.
He said: "We need to redesign and relaunch a UK level regional policy which targets those industrial communities which are still reeling from what happened under Thatcherism in the 1980s: where real unemployment is twice the national average.
"What we have to guard against is a Tory Government seeking to manipulate funds for Party political gain."
Leonard, who is also Scottish Labour’s economy spokesperson, added: "We need a fair distribution of funds according to social and economic need, not pork barrel politics dictated by the electoral arithmetic of Conservative Party marginal seats.”
In response a Treasury spokeswoman said: “As set out in the manifesto the Government is committed to reducing inequalities between communities across our four nations and helping to deliver sustainable, inclusive growth.”
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