Ms Abbott said no-one should be conned by Premier Mr Cameron’s decision to launch his “Big Society” agenda in Liverpool.

She said: “For them, it is a city done good.

“But much of that is down to Labour investment in jobs, housing and education, as well as the highly successful Capital of Culture.

“Things like the Future Jobs Fund, which gave people the chance to train rather than just claim dole, really made a difference in Merseyside.

“It is a crying shame that the Lib-Cons have seen fit to scrap it so quickly.”

She also compared the Cameron launch with then- environment secretary Michael Heseltine’s efforts in Liverpool following the 1981 Toxteth riots.

She said: “There is something about Tory politicians and Liverpool as a site for dabbling in social reform.

“Heseltine actually lived here for three weeks, dubbing himself the minister for Liverpool, and his big idea was garden festivals, compost and bedding plants as an answer to society’s ills.

“But while fear of the urban mob was raging, Heseltine did not mess around with any namby-pamby ‘Big Society’.

“Instead, he strong-armed money out of his cabinet colleagues and big business.”

She said that was in sharp contrast to the coalition’s axing of the Northwest Development Agency, which did so much for Merseyside’s regeneration.

She said: “The region, like other urban areas, will be hammered twice by the coalition cuts – first by losing vital public services, then by losing public sector jobs.

“There is a great danger of a real downturn.”

Turning back to the leadership campaign trail, Ms Abbott pointed out that she is the only candidate with Westminster experience of opposition.

She said: “The best you can do is be a strong opponent and hold the Government to account.

“I want to listen more and open up the party.

“It is wrong all the big decisions should be taken at Westminster.”