West Yorkshire tram network needs £1bn from Government in Spending Review to get spades in ground

The proposed route runs past Elland Road to the White Rose Centre, with the potential for future extensions to the airport and surrounding areas, including Dewsbury and Wakefield.

The mayor believes this could unlock around £11bn of economic growth and also help people access jobs, and is asking the Government for £1bn to cover the period from 2027 to 2032 when work will start.

Ms Brabin held an event in Parliament on Monday night, and urged West Yorkshire MPs to lobby the Treasury ahead of the summer Spending Review - which sees money allocated for departmental budgets and major projects.

Clad in a t-shirt emblazoned with “time for trams”, the mayor told MPs: “There are going to be loads of challenges.

“We are going to have to make the case for £1bn, which is going to unlock £11bn - thousands and thousands of jobs.”

Ms Brabin said the difference between the current project and the two previous failed schemes is “because they were Leeds only - this is about West Yorkshire”.

She encouraged the raft of local MPs – including Leeds Central and Headingley’s Alex Sobel, Shipley’s Anna Dixon and Colne Valley’s Paul Davies – to ask questions and make speeches about the benefits of mass transit in the House of Commons.

"We know that if we are going to grow the economy we have to invest in transport,” Ms Brabin added.

"It’s going to be a rocky journey because there will be questions about cost.”

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, attended the meeting, however the final decision will go to her deputy Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, as the planned route runs through her Leeds West and Pudsey constituency.

Shortly after the election last July, Ms Reeves told The Yorkshire Post: “I can see the huge potential that will have to open up jobs and opportunities in the area that I represent.”

Since then, increased borrowing costs and global economic turmoil from Donald Trump’s tariffs have put pressure on the public finances.

However, Ms Brabin was handed a recent boost as the Prime Minister made a visit near Huddersfield to back the Transpennine Route Upgrade and the West Yorkshire tram network.

Mark Sewards, the Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley who organised the event in Parliament, said the Chancellor was a “powerful ally to have”.

“It is so important that all of the Parliamentarians, whether they sit in the Commons or Lords, go back and fly the flag for mass transit for West Yorkshire,” he added.

“We know this is going to secure amazing benefits for our region.

“The government cannot secure growth in every part of the country without amazing projects like this one.”

Ms Brabin plans to integrate tram tickets with buses and local rail services across West Yorkshire.

Overall, the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority believes that the government funding required to complete the mass transit project will be around £2.5bn.

WYMCA chief executive Ben Still said he was confident in securing the funds.

He explained that the “game changer” in terms of being able to bring a mass transit system to the region is the development of tram technology, requiring fewer overhead cables.

“That improves both the environmental quality and it also means the objections and the processes we have to go through are not as complex,” he added.