A Greater Manchester MP has dubbed the Chancellor’s Northern Powerhouse a ‘poorhouse’, accusing Mr Osborne of peddling ‘hollow political branding’.

Oldham West and Royton’s Jim McMahon challenged the opportunities the region has been afforded as the ‘engine’ of the Tories’ plan for the north.

He said Greater Manchester’s £1bn-plus devolution deal is at risk of failure if a desperate lack of housing is not addressed.

Mr McMahon said in towns like Oldham, the government is devolving responsibilities, but ‘cutting resources to the bone’.

He said the plan for Greater Manchester - and the rest of the north - could be a ‘cover’ for slashing spending to town halls.

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Speaking at the launch event a new report by the Housing the Powerhouse campaign, Mr McMahon said: “The Chancellor’s so-called Northern Powerhouse feels more like a poorhouse in towns like Oldham where the government is devolving responsibilities whilst cutting resources to the bone.

“Done right, devolution can empower our communities. Done wrong, it’s just cover for cuts.

“In Oldham, people aren’t impressed by hollow exercises in political branding.

“George Osborne’s rhetoric goes down badly because it does not come with real freedoms or with genuine financial reform.”

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Mr McMahon said the region’s chiefs have to get ‘much more’ from private landlords in return for the housing benefit they receive.

He added: “In Oldham, too many are happy to take Local Housing Allowance payments whilst letting their tenants’ homes fall into ruin.

“Housing the Northern Powerhouse must mean tackling problems like that.”

The new report shows that Greater Manchester’s current growth, infrastructure investment and ambitious ‘rhetoric’ are not yet being matched by its planning, housing and development strategy.

It claims the region risks lagging behind other northern cities in its housing ambitions, with signs of a ‘London-style’ housing crisis emerging.

A lack of new homes, the report added added, risks stifling the region’s potential - and the Northern Powerhouse ‘dream’ of equalling London’s dominance.

Matthew Good of the Home Builders Federation - and member of the Housing the Powerhouse campaign - said: “If the dream of a Northern Powerhouse is to be turned into reality, a step change in the delivery of new homes in Greater Manchester will be key.”