Jessie Joe Jacobs is backing calls for a proposed £1bn investment fund for start-ups. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT LABOUR has called for £1bn to be invested in 100,000 start-ups across the country in the next five years, strategically focusing on new businesses outside London and the South-East. The funding for start-up loans would prioritise new businesses in places that have experienced low levels of finance. They party said start-ups in the North-East have been particularly underfunded, with figures from the British Business Bank showing: l In 2019, new businesses in the North-East received just one per cent of equity investment in the UK while London received 66 per cent of investment.