As he is the pin-up boy for the porkiest of pork-barrel politics, Robert Jenrick’s shared responsibility for the £4bn “levelling up” slush fund is setting alarm bells ringing in Whitehall. Mandarins are discussing the need for “robust” rules on the kitty, which Labour views as re-election bribes for Red Wall Tories. Spender-in-chief Jenrick has form as long as his arm; last month he faced claims of bias when, after some departmental shenanigans, his Nottinghamshire constituency of Newark received £25m of the £3.6bn Towns Fund, while poorer areas missed out. The Housing Secretary also overruled official advice to assist Tory donor Richard Desmond to avoid a potential £45m community levy the day before a development tax came into force. Devising stringent rules is one thing, imposing them another.
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