Delivered by devolution
Mayor, West Yorkshire
Successive Prime Ministers have failed to adequately address the existential challenges facing the local state. Although 2019 saw the “end of austerity”, funding for local government has not been enough to rescue public services or meet the scale of the challenges we face.
From the pandemic to the RAAC concrete crisis to spiralling social care costs, the burden on the local state has been the biggest since World War II. And with political chaos from the centre and financial constraints on local government, the effect on public confidence has been huge. Towards the end of the last government, it was revealed that trust in politicians to deliver was less than 50 per cent — the lowest on record.
And with investment in infrastructure throughout the last parliament the lowest since 1997, it’s no wonder the last government presided over just 0.1 per cent growth in 2023. On July 4th, the country voted for change. But change cannot be delivered from the centre alone. Change needs to be seen to be believed, and it will fall to the local state to deliver it.
So earlier this Autumn, I was pleased to see my colleague Rachel Reeves balance the books, while also protecting funding for that which is crucial to growth: investment in services and infrastructure. There is no golden goose for growth, but you can’t expect to boost the economy without boosting investment.
Leeds is the biggest city in Western Europe without a mass-transit system, and while my plans for an integrated transport network won’t be cheap, it will bring significant economic growth to our region. Phase 2 alone of Nottingham’s tram network created 8,000 jobs and boosted their economy by £300m per year.
In West Yorkshire, mass-transit would boost our businesses and supply chains for decades and support the redevelopment of many areas that have felt economically left-behind, connecting them with new jobs, skills and opportunities.
I’m determined to deliver on my promise of mass-transit for West Yorkshire. Not just to drive growth, but to connect communities and families. Importantly, I’m also determined to grow our regional economy and demonstrate the ability of politicians to deliver infrastructure. Because not doing so would risk our ability to maintain and invest in services for the future.
Only by giving mayors the powers to deliver can we start to rebuild trust in politics and restore national confidence.