A Leeds councillor who has become the latest name in the race for West Yorkshire Mayor has claimed the region’s mayoral deal is not “true devolution”.
The Liberal Democrats officially announced Leeds city councillor Stewart Golton as their candidate for West Yorkshire Mayor this week.
It follows last week’s announcement by the Labour Party that Tracy Brabin would be their preferred candidate, leaving the Conservatives as the only main party to announce their candidate for next year’s vote.
Coun Golton, who has been a Leeds city councillor for 20 years, and currently leads the Liberal Democrats group on the authority, said people should support the party to avoid a “Labour stitch-up” in the region.
He said: “It’s a shame that the Conservative Government and the Labour leaders of West Yorkshire have failed to deliver true devolution for Yorkshire.
“Local people are understandably worried that the new mayor could become a costly, bureaucratic nightmare that charges local people higher taxes and fails to deliver the change we all want.
“I’m determined to stop that. At the moment all five West Yorkshire Councils are run by Labour.
“We’re asking people to support us, so the mayoralty doesn’t become a Labour stich-up.”
He said more needed to be done to promote active methods of travel in the region, adding: “We need to get West Yorkshire moving again.
“The new mayor will have a £317 million budget from the Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport infrastructure and new powers on bus franchising.
“Unfortunately, the devolution agreement mentions virtually nothing on cycling and walking investment, but I would make this a priority using the funds at my disposal.
“Franchising powers also mean that bus routing, pricing and frequency can finally focus on the needs of the passenger as much as the bus operator.”
The West Yorkshire Mayoral elections are set to take place on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
