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Liverpool and Knowsley are to lose out on a £300m fund by the government intended to soften the impact of council cuts.

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson today slammed the decision which will instead see wealthy and Conservative -controlled southern councils receive an estimated 83% of the cash as a “blatant abuse of power in a bid to buy votes”.

Labour claims that nearly all the extra cash set aside to help councils cope with funding changes is going to Conservative areas.

Mayor Anderson said: “Clearly this is a government that is lying and spinning in a blatant attempt to woo Tory voters by abusing their powers to buy votes.

“It is gerrymandering of the worst kind. Liverpool has lost £329m in government funding under this Tory government since 2011 – that is more than the total they are offering now, and to be slapped in the face like this is outrageous.”

Liverpool council had warned last year “meltdown is imminent” and by 2018 cuts to its funding could mean it would struggle to even provide basic services.

The £300m package of transitional support is being created to soften the impact of reforms that will do away with government grants to councils in favour of them relying more on local business rates.

But analysis by the Labour Party shows that 83% of the money will go to Tory-run councils, with Surrey, Hampshire and Hertfordshire the biggest winners.

Oxfordshire County Council, which covers the Prime Minister’s Witney constituency, will receive an extra £9m over the next two years.

Labour said that while struggling councils such as Middlesbrough, Knowsley , Hull, Liverpool and Manchester would not receive any of the cash, the country’s wealthiest areas, Hart, Wokingham, Chiltern, Waverley, Elmbridge, would receive a total of £5.3m.

Shadow local government minister Steve Reed said Mr Cameron had engaged in a “blatant misuse of public money in a shameless attempt to buy votes and buy off Tory MPs”.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “This long-term funding settlement for councils is fair and ensures that councils facing the highest demand for services continue to receive more funding and have higher spending power than less deprived authorities.

“The transitional funding has gone to those councils facing the biggest fall in central government grant.

“The settlement for the first time allows councils to plan with certainty, with almost £200bn to spend on local services and a £3.5bn social care funding package over the lifetime of this parliament.”