Manchester mayoral hopeful Andy Burnham has accused the Government of leaving the city short of £1 billion in public funding.
Mr Burnham, who wants to swap his shadow home secretary role to be directly elected mayor of what the Tories claim will be a Northern powerhouse, has written to Chancellor George Osborne insisting more resources are needed.
"Far from fixing our roof while the sun was shining, you are about to hand over the keys to a powerhouse with a £1 billion hole in it. If you want to give the North more than a clever slogan, you must now put your money where your mouth is," Mr Burnham says in the letter, The Observer reports.
The Labour leadership loser said the shortfall is made up of a reduction in the central government grant to Manchester, NHS deficits, and cuts to public services such as the police.