SHADOW chancellor John McDonnell announced the formation of a new team of experts yesterday to help councils bring services back in house and develop local economies.

Labour’s new “community wealth building unit” will bring together councillors, unions, think tanks and independent experts with experience of delivering frontline change, building on groundbreaking work by Preston council, Mr McDonnell explained.

The Preston project has reportedly returned almost £200 million to the local economy and supported more than 1,600 jobs by using local government contracts to keep money at home and develop worker-owned co-ops.

Mr McDonnell will say: “Tory austerity has blighted our communities and forced councils to cut and privatise many public services that we all rely on.

“The next Labour government will end austerity and properly fund local authorities instead of cutting back and passing the buck like the Conservatives, but we cannot afford to wait until we are in power nationally.”