Woking MP Will Forster has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that his devolution plan risks a left-behind Britain, leaving Woking - and the rest of Surrey - without a metro mayor.

The Liberal Democrats have long called for a proper shifting of power away from Whitehall and into communities, but Lib Dem Mr Forster raised urgent concerns that new plans to give areas with a metro mayor millions of pounds more in funding will deepen divides.

Mr Forster said that Woking, in its new West Surrey Council, has been given no timeline, no funding, and no guarantee that it will see the powers London and Manchester have been given.

The creation of West Surrey Council will inherit a debt of £4.5 billion, yet Labour has failed to give the extra powers or money to help.

Labour has argued that this will save money, but despite Mr Forster repeatedly asking the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government how much money reorganisation saves, the government has failed to come up with a figure for Surrey, or the rest of the country.

Government figures already show that areas with a metro mayor get millions more in cash.

As things currently stand, areas with metro mayors receive more than nine times as much funding than normal local authorities. That’s a gap of up to £2.26 million, compared with £250,000, for basic administration.

Andy Burnham's devolution deal means Woking could also miss out on:

An estimated £27 million a year in investment funding. West Surrey is not in the Devolution Priority Programme.

The chance to be considered for the £500 million Revolving Growth Fund, reserved for metro mayors.

More than £200 million per year in total between 2026-27 and 2029-30 from the Local Growth Fund; this will go only to metro mayors.

A single integrated funding settlement, giving local leaders the flexibility to invest in transport, housing, skills and economic growth without the instability of bidding every year to central government.

Also, areas in the Devolution Priority Programme, designed to bring a form of devolution to more areas across England, announced by the Government last year, receive investment fund allocations of between £11 million and £44 million per year.

Such stark gaps, say the Lib Dems, raise questions about the sincerity of the new Prime Minister’s policies.

Metro mayors across England also hold exclusive access to additional powers that would widen the gaps between those who have a metro mayor and what Mr Forster describes as “Burnham’s left-behind Britain”.

These powers mean regions with a metro mayor get exclusive ways to keep money in the area it is raised, funding public transport, infrastructure improvements and more cash for local business growth. This in turn means areas without a metro mayor are left even further behind.

Mr Forster, said: “I want to see more power in our local communities, but these plans from Andy Burnham risk increasing the divide in the country. As a former metro mayor, he should know better.

“The Government’s own stats show that areas without a mayor get way less than those with a mayor – Woking is set to lose out on millions of pounds of funding. We are saddled with billions of Conservative debt, and the new council will struggle to cope with that without extra money from the government.

“I've pushed repeatedly for debt relief for Woking, but we are still in the mire. Labour say they want to standardise local government but without these extra powers and money, Labour is making two kinds of councils. Ones with, and ones without.

“Ultimately, Woking is missing out.”