WIREDGOV

• TUC welcomes speed of change as Mayor takes action on buses, jobs and climate
• Union body calls on chancellor to end his ‘not fit for purpose’ competitive funds, and agree ‘grown up’ power and funding settlements with local leaders

Commenting on Mayor Tracy Brabin’s first 100 days, the TUC’s Yorkshire Regional Secretary Bill Adams said:  

“Mayor Brabin has exceeded expectations in her first 100 days. It’s not often unions say that about a politician.

“Our demands for the new mayor were clear: urgent action on jobs, public transport, and climate

“From the Fair Work charter launch, to the Green Jobs Taskforce, we have seen bold, speedy and decisive action from Tracy and her top team.

“Back in April we set out a 100 day challenge to the new Mayor, to end our broken privatised bus system, begin taking services back into public control. Mayor Brabin has taken that demand and run with it, notifying bus companies of her intention to franchise buses formally in July. It will be a long road to fulfil all of the government’s requirements for publicly controlled buses, but we are confident Tracy can do it.

“She has been inclusive from the start, bringing unions and business round the table to work together on the major economic challenges our region faces after COVID and Brexit.

“But the limits placed on Mayor Brabin’s powers by the Westminster government are holding us back. We need more money to accelerate the building of West Yorkshire’s mass transit network, reskill workers for the green economy, and recover from COVID.

“Rishi’s competitive funding bids that pit towns and regions against each other are not fit for purpose. We need grown up, serious funding settlements where decisions are made close to home.

“The breath-taking speed of the changes Tracy has implemented goes to show why we need more power and funding devolved to Yorkshire. It’s the decisions taken in Wellington Street, not Whitehall, that are changing people’s lives.”

Editors Note

• The TUC’s regional conference voted to demand the new mayor begin bus franchising within 100 days of election on Saturday 10 April: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/west-yorkshire-metro-mayor-must-start-bus-franchising-process-within-100-days-demands-tuc-yorkshire-conference-3194543
• The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.

Contacts:

Gareth Forest (Lewis)
gforest@tuc.org.uk 
0113 200 1075
07810 374976

TUC national press office 
media@tuc.org.uk  
020 7467 1248