The Telegraph reports that the system which allocates funding around the UK has become increasingly unfair to England.

In an analysis entitled "How Tory England bankrolls Scotland" the paper says public spending is based on "Labour hand-outs to its friends in the north".

Lord Barnett, the former Treasury chief secretary who devised the system in the 1970s, said last year: "It was never meant to last this long but it has gone on and on and it has become increasingly unfair to the regions of England.

"I didn't create this formula to give Scotland an advantage over the rest of Britain when it comes to public funding.

"It is a great embarrassment to have my name attached to so unfair a system."