Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gainsborough, has written to the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government urging him to rethink the proposed funding levels for local authorities.

The MP of thirty years’ service in the Commons told Greg Clark MP that he was “disappointed” that the Local Government Finance Settlement “delivers a significant switch in resources from rural shire counties to the urban metropolitan districts.”

“The disparity in funding between rural and urban areas is obvious,” Sir Edward told the press. “I’m working with other rural MPs through the Rural Fair Share campaign to press the Government to do more about this.”

“We accept the need for tightening the belt, but urban districts are seeing an average cut of 13 per cent while our rural councils are facing an average of 34 per cent reduction in funding.”

The MP did note, however, that he is “glad” to see the Rural Services Delivery Grant “has been boosted from £15.5 million for 2015/16 to £65 million for 2019/20”.