The Mayor of West Yorkshire said details of the region’s £890m transport settlement are yet to be settled with Government and are among the issues that will be affected by the collapse of Boris Johnson’s leadership.

She said: “The chaos created by a Prime Minister unfit for office has consequences for the North.

“For the last year, I and other mayors have been negotiating a new transport settlement with government.

Tracy Brabin says key policies for West Yorkshire are being held back by uncertainty in Government.

“In West Yorkshire, this is worth £890m and will help us deliver new bus routes, cycle lanes and let us take forward our ambitious plans for a new Mass Transit system across the region - a commitment in this Government’s election manifesto.

“Despite the initial allocations being announced in October last year, the multi-year funding agreement we were promised has still not been finalised.

“Meddling hands of strangers in Whitehall, who have no detailed knowledge of the needs of our towns and cities, have prevented us from getting it over the line.

“The same goes for funding related to our Bus Service Improvement Plan, which will invest in cheaper fares and desperately needed additional routes.

“And more than eight months on since the Integrated Rail Plan, we are still waiting on the terms of reference of the study of how to bring high speed trains from Sheffield into Leeds.

“The delays and uncertainty caused by the chaotic collapse in government is holding back the North. It makes an even greater case for devolving further powers and resources directly to mayors and local leaders.

“We will continue to deliver regardless of the situation in Downing Street. But if Government were to get out of our way we could go further and truly unleash the full potential of our regions.”

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said his region was now facing similar uncertainty.

“Since being elected in May, I have picked up negotiations with the government about investments worth billions of pounds, leading to the creation of potentially thousands of high paid jobs in the industries of the future. And yet, the chaos engulfing the government threatens to derail not only those investments but further undermine its own ‘Levelling Up’ agenda.

“In South Yorkshire, like so many regions across the country, we are desperate to drive innovation, promote clean growth, help people into jobs, and deliver the better transport connectivity that our communities need.

“Because right now there are too many families worried about heating their homes and feeding their children. We have businesses fearing for their future. And our bus network is in crisis, with operators threatening to withdraw a third of routes in October.

“The calamity gripping the Conservative Party is in danger of not only undermining our country’s reputation for stable government, but is a huge distraction from the work going on in places like South Yorkshire.

“I am happy to welcome the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Greg Clark, and urge the government to raise their focus outside of Westminster, putting their attention where it belongs: on the jobs, future, health and wealth of the people who live and work in South Yorkshire, and across the country."

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Tracy Brabin warns 'chaotic collapse' of Boris Johnson's Government is holding back North