Andy Burnham, who wants to be Labour’s Manchester mayoral candidate, has called on George Osborne to take action over what he called a £1bn black hole in the northern powerhouse initiative. Analysis of public services finances across Greater Manchester has found that a £1bn shortfall would emerge over the course of this parliament. Burnham told Osborne: “You have one more budget before the new mayor takes office to fix this hole in our roof and balance the books. However, funding has only been put forward to draw up plans rather than as any commitment to building either project. Central government grants to the region’s 10 councils will fall by £836m between 2015 and 2020, and Manchester city council is set to lose £163m by 2019/20, according to Burnham.

Source: The Guardian May 28, 2016 16:30 UTC