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Tory boasting on jobs figures 'like something from another planet' – MP McFadden

Boris Johnson has been accused of ignoring the plight of struggling towns and cities in his plans for the current session of Parliament.

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Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said the Tories had ignored his constituency

Labour MP Pat McFadden said the government had failed to address the "two speed nature" of Britain's economy, where areas such as the West Midlands struggled with a lack of opportunities and low wages while other places thrived.

The Wolverhampton South East MP said ministers were quick to "pat themselves on the back" about jobless figures – which have fallen overall – without acknowledging that unemployment had gone up in some areas.

"There are parts of the country where this boasting sounds like something from another planet," said Mr McFadden, speaking during the Queen's Speech debate in the Commons.

The MP has joined forces with the Global Future think tank calling for cash set to be lost in corporation tax cuts to instead be used to boost deprived towns and cities.

He said unemployment had been going "up and up month on month for a long time" in many areas, saying in his constituency there was "a criminal waste of talent and an appalling denial of opportunity for those affected and their families".

He also claimed that full time workers in his constituency earned around £100 a week less than the national average.

"My constituents are working hard and trying to do the right thing but not getting the rewards they deserve," he told MPs.

"No wonder people feel the system isn’t working for them when their chances of getting a job are lower than average and the pay they receive when they do get one is also lower than average.

"We need an economy which works for every part of the country, not just some of it – and right now we don’t have that."

Mr McFadden also hit out at cuts to skills funding, a lack of training opportunities and a dramatic fall in apprenticeships of 9,000 last year.

"At the very moment people need help, instead of funding a platform for opportunity, the government has been kicking the ladder away," he added.

Planned cuts in corporation tax would cost the country billions of pounds each year, he said, cash which could be used to support working class communities around the country.

"We need a proper long term plan for the smaller cities and towns which too long have been left out of economic prosperity – something that really tackles the long term legacy of industrial closures in years gone by and gives these areas a new and prosperous future," he said.

He highlighted his proposal to "create a long-term fund for smaller cities and towns", saying it could be used to invest in childcare, reclaim derelict land for development and upskill the workforce.

"We could build a platform where we did something about the two speed nature of our economy, where we built a bridge between the areas already doing well and those struggling with that legacy of high unemployment, low incomes and low skills," Mr McFadden said.

"That’s the kind of plan we need, and there is nothing like it in the Queen’s Speech."

Also speaking during the debate, West Bromwich West MP Adrian Bailey said he welcomed the Government's "long overdue" public spending commitments, which he described as "inadequate" but a "step forward".

The Labour MP questioned how the Government planned to fund its programme.