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• Public transport, safe housing, green jobs and skills must be priorities
• 100 day countdown on bus franchising commitment starts now

Commenting on today’s (Sunday) West Yorkshire mayoral election result, TUC Yorkshire Regional Secretary Bill Adams said:

“The new mayor can offer a fresh start for West Yorkshire, and a chance to bring decisions about our future closer to home.

“After a decade of failed austerity imposed from Whitehall, we now have a mayor who can be a champion for our region and a powerful voice for change.

“We look forward to the mayor making good on her pledge last week to begin the statutory investigation into public control of our buses within her first 100 days.

We stand ready to work with the mayor on investing in a transformative mass transit project and other green industries, initiating major job creation schemes, and reversing the government’s damaging cuts to the Union Learning Fund by starting a home grown workplace skills and education project for West Yorkshire.

“As the economic fallout from COVID continues, working people need to stand together in their unions – and get ready to fight to protect our livelihoods and our communities. We urge everyone at work to join a trade union today.”

On the issue of public transport in the campaign, Gareth Forest, the TUC’s Better Buses campaigner said:

“Bold commitments to change how our buses are run are behind today’s result.

“This mayoral campaign has been defined by our call to fix West Yorkshire’s broken bus system.

“Thanks to our 18 month campaign for public control of our buses, all the candidates were forced to lay their cards on the table and say what they would do if elected mayor.

“This issue just wasn’t talked about in the media 18 months ago. People said it couldn’t be done. But today, because our campaign has mobilised thousands of union members, climate campaigners and community activists, buses became the biggest issue facing the mayoral candidates.

“Last week (Thurs 29 April) at a public meeting, four out of seven candidates (Brabin, Cooper, Golton, Ali) committed to our demand that they begin the statutory investigation into public control of buses within 100 days of taking office.”

ENDS

Editors note

- At a public meeting on Thursday 29 April run by Better Buses for West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin committed to beginning the statutory investigation into public control within 100 days of taking office

- 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

Bill Adams, Regional Secretary can be contacted directly on:
badams@tuc.org.uk   
07867 788856 / 0113 242 9696

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

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