Government's regional funding cuts barely surprising says West Midlands Euro-MP.

10.38.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 19th Sep 2008

West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne has said that she is appalled but barely surprised by the Government's announcement that it has told the Advantage West Midlands to cut its budget by £36 million.

The announcement of the cuts at the AWM, the west midlands regional development agency comes just weeks after Gordon Brown's cabinet met in Birmingham and announced a supposed £64 million in additional investment for the area, which has suffered from chronic under-funding in recent years.

It later transpired that this money was actually part of the £300 million budget already set to go to development in the region.

Liz Lynne said:

"It is deeply disappointing that the government has once again tried to fiddle the figures and dupe the West Midlands out of desperately needed funds. Unfortunately it is hardly a new tactic for an administration that has persistently neglected the needs of the region.

"When Gordon Brown and his Cabinet met in Birmingham I said that we needed more than gesture politics, more than false promises and, most importantly, more investment. I warned that the Labour party, who have ignored the West Midlands for over a decade, were not going to suddenly turn over a new leaf simply because they decided to travel up the M40 to England's second city.

"Sadly this latest announcement has proved me right. Labour have not listened to anything they were told by the people of Birmingham, and have gone back to Westminster having learnt nothing.

"This region needs investment, Birmingham is a manufacturing hub, and without money being poured into upgrading the West Coast Main Line, and creating a Metro system for the city, it will struggle to compete with other cities, both in the rest of Europe, and around the world."

ENDS