Cleverly's seat benefited from £1.6m of funds being slashed to pay for National Service plan 

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

• The Conservatives have said they will raid funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund to fund their new National Service plan. 

• This puts further funding for local communities at risk as it’s revealed a staggering £1.6m was spent in Home Secretary James Cleverley’s seat Braintree. The Conservative-run Braintree District Council used the fund to boost rural job prospects and support people struggling with the cost of living crisis. 

• The Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to instead focus on reversing their 10,000 army troop cut. 

Responding to James Cleverley’s comments this morning, Liberal Democrat Housing and Local Government Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:  

“If the Conservatives were actually worried about national defence, they would focus on reversing their 10,000 army troop cuts and sorting out military housing rather than this gimmick. 

“Instead, the Home Secretary is content to leave his own constituents high and dry by putting millions of pounds of funding at risk in a desperate plea for headlines. 

“The fact they are planning to slash local funding to pay for these ludicrous plans shows just how out of touch the Conservative party has become. 

“The British people deserve vital community projects, not Conservative vanity projects.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

£1.6 million in funding has been given to Braintree under the Shared Prosperity Fund. This includes £1,036,483 in initial allocation, and a further £589,191 top up.