Every four years, Britain’s urban regions compete ferociously for the title of UK city of culture. Since 2013, when Derry in Northern Ireland wore the first crown, Kingston-upon-Hull has enjoyed its year of artistic triumph and Coventry has secured a chance to capitalise on 12 months of cultural attention in 2021. Now Yvette Cooper, the MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford and chair of the Labour Towns group of MPs and councillors, wants to establish a new annual title: town of culture.

“Why focus only on cities? Our towns also have great heritage and culture, yet they aren’t getting the same opportunities for investment,” said Cooper this weekend, as she and a group of fellow MPs sent an open letter of appeal to the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright.

Civic culture titles are beauty contests in which, perversely, somewhere that can prove it has long been ignored and disregarded can become an unlikely odds-on favourite. Up for grabs for any winner is a surge of municipal investment and a nationwide opportunity to rebrand. While Hull was city of culture in 2017, it attracted over £220m in investment and created 800 new jobs, as well as attracting millions of tourists.

Although towns are not officially exempt from applying for the original city of culture title, only one, Paisley, has made the shortlist so far, as they tend to have limited bidding funds.

In the open letter, published on the Observer’s website this weekend, Cooper and parliamentary colleagues who represent towns such as Wrexham, Stroud and Bishop Auckland call for a prize that will allow smaller urban areas to reap the benefits of a period of national exposure. Cooper fears that the economic divide between British cities and towns is widening dangerously, with metropolitan zones enjoying better infrastructure and a broader range of available jobs.

Yvette Cooper and a group of MPs have sent an open letter to the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/for the Observer

“Towns are not getting a fair deal,” Cooper said. “An annual town of culture award would be a real draw – bringing new jobs and visitors. It would also be a catalyst to get the Arts Council, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and other public and private funding organisations to focus more investment on boosting the potential of our towns.”

Following the letter, Cooper and her group are to push forward their campaign in January. The case for urgent action is clear, they claim, with the number of jobs in English town constituencies growing by 6% less than in city constituencies over the past five years, while Arts Council funding is more than four times higher in cities than in towns.

In fact, the amount of public money which goes directly to the winning city of culture is not large. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) gives £3m, but central government investment does usually follow. The DCMS said Hull later received £15m in government funding, as well as £3m from Arts Council England.

In December last year, four of the five shortlisted contenders for the 2021 city title, Swansea, Paisley, Stoke and Sunderland, each learned that, despite concerted efforts to win a period of social and economic regeneration, they had failed and Coventry had won. Yet Cooper argues that even cities that are only shortlisted receive a valuable boost from the publicity and planning that surrounds the bidding process.

The British city of culture scheme, proposed under Labour in 2009, has already spawned a smaller London competition, with mayor Sadiq Khan running a borough of culture contest last year. Waltham Forest will take up the first title in 2019.

Potential contenders?

Huddersfield, West Yorkshire: Population (2011) 162,949

A market town between Leeds and Manchester in the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire, its Victorian architecture is testament to its role in the Industrial Revolution. The Luddites opposed technical innovation and cruelty in the mills here. The Grade I listed railway station was described by John Betjeman as “the most splendid station façade in England” and it won the Europa Nostra award for European architecture after a £4 million renovation.

Cultural USP: Huddersfield’s annual Contemporary Music Festival, the biggest in Britain

Bridgwater, Somerset: Population (2011) 35,886

A market town and inland port on the edge of the Somerset Levels near Taunton. The Monmouth Rebellion was subdued close by in 1685 at The Battle of Sedgemoor and it was a trading centre for bricks and tiles since the industrial revolution thanks to its canal. Key buildings include the Church of St Mary and the birthplace of Admiral Blake in 1598.

Cultural USP: the annual, highly competitive and extravagant Guy Fawkes Carnival.

Colchester, Essex: Population (2011) 104,390

The oldest recorded town in Britain and for a time capital of Roman Britain, it is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. Notable sites include the 12th century ruins of St Botolph’s Priory and the Roman chariot racing “circus”. Identified in 2005, it is the only known one in the country and once seated up to 8,000 spectators. Colchester Castle is a huge Norman keep, built on the site of a Roman temple and the remains of a Roman theatre are on view in the town’s Dutch Quarter.

Cultural USP: aside from the Romans, the art college and popular Minories gallery.