West Yorkshire mass transit: Starmer told to hand over mayors to sign off transport projects
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to hand over powers to mayors to sign off major transport projects, and help bring trams back to West Yorkshire.
The report, by think tank Britain Remade, has found that while Leeds is the biggest city in Western Europe without a mass transit system, its twin cities of Lille and Dortmund have both built extensive tram networks.
Despite having smaller populations than the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) area, Lille has developed a fully automated metro with extensive track and station coverage, and Dortmund has similarly built a large network that includes both underground and overground stations.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has pledged to bring trams back to the streets of Leeds and Bradford and has staked her reputation on the success of the £2.5bn projects.
WYCA is currently in the process of submitting business cases for both trams and buses to the Department for Transport, who will eventually sign off on one system.
Britain Remade says that Ms Brabin and other metro mayors should be granted powers to approve and fund their own transport projects.
The think tank is calling on the Government to amend the English Devolution Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.
Sam Richards, founder of Britain Remade, said: “Cities like Lille and Dortmund trust their local leaders to build the transport systems their economies need.
“But in England, mayors still have to go cap in hand to the Treasury and the Department for Transport before anything major can get built.
“That’s one reason cities like Leeds are falling behind comparable places in Europe. Directly elected mayors know what their areas need far better than officials in Whitehall.
“If the government wants cities like Leeds to compete with the best in Europe, it needs to trust local leaders to get on and build.
“The Prime Minister should use this bill going through Parliament to give mayors the power to approve, fund and deliver the transport projects their regions need. Only then will local leaders be able to unleash the full potential of their regions.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has firmly backed the mayor’s tram plans. She told this paper: “Mass transit does not mean a few better buses, mass transit means a tram network.”
A WYCA spokesperson said: “Delivery of major infrastructure projects in the UK is too slow, and in the spirit of devolution we want to innovate to deliver mass transit more quickly.
“Nista's predecessor body, the National Infrastructure Commission, set out clearly in 2023 that Leeds needs a tram. A review at this stage of a project of this scale is completely normal, and the majority of its recommendations have already been addressed by the combined authority.”