Labour MPs have been warned by their party not to accept money for their constituencies in return for supporting Theresa May's Brexit deal.   Labour chairman Ian Lavery said "taking such a bribe would be fool's gold" given the Tories' record on austerity. John Mann has urged the PM to "show us the money" with "transformative investment" in areas that voted Leave. But the Labour MP, who backed Theresa May's Brexit deal, denied it amounted to "transactional politics". Writing on the Labour List website, Mr Lavery, the former general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers and a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn, accused Mrs May of playing "divide and rule" over Brexit. "If the prime minister wants to talk about ending austerity and protecting rights as we leave the EU, she should do so with the leader of the Labour Party and his team. "Any Labour MP seriously considering discussions with the PM should remember her record and that of her party going back generations. Quite simply, taking such a bribe would be fool's gold." The government is understood to be considering proposals from a group of Labour MPs in predominantly Leave-supporting constituencies, to allocate more funds to their communities for big infrastructure projects. It is thought the MPs have urged the prime minister to consider re-allocating the EU's regional aid budget away from big cities and local councils and to give the cash direct to smaller communities, often in former steel and coal mining areas. John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, a former coal mining area in Nottinghamshire, met cabinet office officials in Whitehall on Thursday and told reporters: "I want to see, when we leave the European Union, significant investment in new technologies, new jobs, science and industry in areas like mine and all the other areas in the country like mine. AFP.