THE government’s plans to inject £1.6 billion into poorer Leave-voting towns and cities “smacks of desperation” with Theresa May eager to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, Labour has said.

About £1bn of the fund is set to be distributed in areas that suffer from disproportionately high levels of poverty and unemployment in England through a means-tested formula, while communities can make specific bids for the additional £600 million.

It is expected that more than half of the money – a “ desperate bribe,” according to shadow chancellor John McDonnell – will be distributed to towns in the north and the Midlands.

Communities Minister James Brokenshire said that the money has been offered “to see that towns grow,” and claimed that the funding will be “transformative” to declining local economies.

The cash would be spread over seven financial years to 2025-2026.

In January, Ms May’s deal reached with the EU to secure Britain’s withdrawal fell in Parliament by a majority of 230 votes – the biggest defeat of a sitting government in history.

Following this, the Prime Minister offered this financial stimulus in the hope of it convincing Labour MPs in Brexit-voting areas to vote through her deal.

Mr McDonnell said: “This towns fund smacks of desperation from a government reduced to bribing MPs to vote for their damaging flagship Brexit legislation.

“The reason our towns are struggling is because of a decade of cuts, including to council funding and a failure to invest in businesses and our communities.

“Labour pledged in 2017 that we will establish a network of regional development banks that will be dedicated to delivering the finance that our small businesses, co-operatives and innovative projects need across the whole country.

“No Brexit bribery, stable investment where it is most needed.”

Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Leave-voting Wigan, criticised the government’s intention to give £40 million a year to the entire north-west of England.

She pointed out: “To put it in context, in Wigan alone we have had cuts of £134 million since 2010, with more in the pipeline.”

Ms Nandy added: “After decades of neglect a one-off payment designed to help the Prime Minister ahead of a key Brexit vote will fail, and it will confirm to people in our towns that the government is not serious in its commitment to our communities.”