LIVERPOOL must “get its act together” to attract civil service jobs heading to the North West after plans were revealed for Manchester to become the “Whitehall of the North”.

The Government is working on plans to create a super campus in Manchester city centre to house 5,000 civil servants from across the region and attract the proposed relocation of Whitehall Departments.

Liverpool has long cherished a major influx of civil service jobs from the capital but could now be left languishing behind.

Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle said Manchester had been able to attract investment at Liverpool’s expense over the years because of the absence of competition from city leaders. He said: “This is a signal that we need to start some kind of campaign that Liverpool is considered. I notice that once again Manchester Council has got its act together.

“We have got to get in there and lobby quickly, we need to make ministers aware that there is a far more cost effective offer here.

“I shall be writing formally to the council about this, and I will be pressing for a meeting with ministers.”

His fellow Labour MP, Liverpool Riverside’s Louise Ellman, blamed Liverpool council for not being proactive enough.

But deputy council leader Cllr Flo Clucas defended the local authority and said: “The Government needs to be a little more savvy about how the North West is treated and not see it as Manchester-centric.

“I would have hoped that Merseyside, in particular, given the work we have been doing, would be getting government departments. We have the land, we have the housing, we have the people and four universities.

“I think they should look to places like Liverpool, instead of finding the most expensive solution all the time.”

The revelation Manchester is in line to attract more government investment is likely to generate resentment in Liverpool.

It follows the huge investment in the relocation of BBC departments to the Media City complex at Salford Quays.