The North-South divide has been widened by Conservative austerity policies, official figures have revealed.

Government spending, in real terms, has fallen in Yorkshire between 2012/13 and 2016/17, according to statistics from HM Treasury.

Yorkshire, the North East and the North West all suffered a real term decrease in public spending, making them the worst affected regions in England over the last four years.

Meanwhile the Midlands, and particularly the South and East Anglia, enjoyed a net increase in cash from the government coffers.

While the North lost £696m in real terms the South gained £7bn, according to official stats.

Kirklees is getting a 'raw deal' from the government

Figures found the government spending per head in Yorkshire (£8,810) was lower than the UK average (£9,159). The regions with highest public spend per person were in Northern Ireland (£11,042), Scotland (£10,651) and London (£10,192).

A Treasury spokesperson, however, told the BBC that each region in England was 'funded fairly'.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called on the Government to end austerity and said a Labour government would spend an extra £17bn on public services.