I was hugely disappointed by the Government’s £1.6 billion Stronger Towns Fund, which is designed to boost local economies that haven’t benefited from growth. The money on offer is pathetically inadequate in the face of years of Government funding cuts forced on the most deprived parts of our country.

The East Midlands will be allocated just £110 million over seven years. In contrast, Leicester City Council alone has seen its budget cut by £100 million a year since 2010. Local businesses have already described the money on offer from the Government as “a drop in the ocean”.

You can read more about the fund and the reaction from across Leicestershire here.