Last week, the Rossendale and Darwen Labour backbencher staged a special debate in Parliament’s second Westminster Hall chamber on ‘Rebalancing Regional Economies’.
In it, he called for towns in his constituency, including Bacup, Whitworth, Rawtenstall and Darwen, to receive extra Whitehall cash to thrive and prosper, saying that for too long they had been ‘at the back of the queue and left behind’.
At Treasury Questions on Tuesday, he took the issue directly to Mrs Reeves and called for an urgent revision of the government’s Green Book guidance on how the value of Westminster’s investment in major projects is assessed.
Mr MacNae asked the Chancellor: “What steps are you taking to increase levels of funding for northern towns?”
Mrs Reeves replied: “I was pleased to go with you to Darwen to visit the 100th banking hub, which was rolled out just a few months ago.
“We also visited the thriving Darwen market in one of his local towns.
“We will set out at the spending review how we will spend the £113 billion extra that we are putting in to capital spending, compared with the plans we inherited from the Conservatives.
“Of course, we will ensure that towns and cities, including across the north of England, benefit from that investment.”
Mr MacNae said: “The government’s commitment to the north is absolutely clear.
“We very much enjoyed our visit to Darwen market.
“At the same time, however, history tells us that small towns, like those that make up Rossendale and Darwen, can far too easily get left behind and not feel the benefits of major infrastructure investment, despite being the very communities that need to see and feel change the most.
“Do you agree that as we implement our investment and growth strategy, and deliver the review of the Green Book, we must put our left-behind communities first?
“As part of every major investment decision, we should ask the question: what does this do for our most deprived and left-behind neighbourhoods?
“It is only by targeting investment where it is needed most that we can ensure that every community feels the benefit of the growth that this government will bring.”
Mrs Reeves replied: “You are a proud champion of the towns and villages of Rossendale and Darwen.
“We will make sure that we use our Green Book review to properly assess the benefit of all this government’s investments.
“On top of that capital investment, the people of Rossendale and Darwen are benefiting from the three million additional appointments that we have delivered, which have led to reductions in NHS waiting lists, and also the increase in the national living wage, which will make working people in his constituency and across the country better off.”