Andy Burnham must stop civil servants overruling West Yorkshire's mayor's tram plans, Angela Rayner says
Tracy Brabin wants to use £2.5bn to build tram lines in West Yorkshire, however civil servants could insist it becomes a bus network to provide better value for money.
Andy Burnham must hand down powers to allow Tracy Brabin to start work on a tram system for West Yorkshire instead of building a business case for buses, Angela Rayner has said.
The former deputy prime minister said Mr Burnham must end the “command and control culture of Whitehall” that could allow civil servants to turn the mass transit project into a bus network.
Mr Burnham, who looks set to enter Downing Street within weeks, on Monday pledged to “rewire” the British state with greater decision-making handed to local leaders.
His flagship proposal was the creation of an outpost of 10 Downing Street based in Manchester, which would serve as the “nerve centre” through which to deliver priorities including reindustrialisation and redistributing power across the UK.
In a speech at the New Economics Foundation, Ms Rayner used the West Yorkshire mass transit project as a key reason why greater devolution was needed.
“This needs a much deeper cultural change across Whitehall - and the scale of that challenge can’t be underestimated,” she said.
“To take just one example, the people of Leeds and Mayor of West Yorkshire have decided a tram is right for their region.
“All Secretaries of State agree. Yet officials in Whitehall can still overrule it.”
Ms Rayner was referring to reporting by The Yorkshire Post, which revealed that Ms Brabin will have to put together a business case for both trams and buses to form the mass transit network.
Department for Transport officials will then decide which provides greater value for money, despite the Prime Minister and the Chancellor backing trams.
“The government can and must clear the bureaucratic barriers to the Leeds Tram and back Tracy to deliver it as quickly as possible,” Ms Rayner said.
“Why spend yet more money and time on a pointless new business case when there is no real question about the need for it?
“And this problem isn’t just isolated to Leeds. Cities across the country have had to fight tooth and nail against a centralised Whitehall to get mass transit, from Manchester, Edinburgh, Nottingham to Birmingham.
“Government could simply say: if any major city wants a tram or metro system, they should have one. There should be no second-guessing, no need to prove and re-prove it.
“As it stands, DfT can block local transport projects above a low threshold.
“But if places can make their own plans, raise their own funding from their own taxes, they should be able to get on and build them.”
Ms Rayner cited her own battles to give mayors the powers to introduce a so-called tourist tax in their regions.
“There was institutional resistance to fiscal devolution throughout my time in office,” she said.
“But we have shown it can be overcome. We faced them down in announcing an Overnight Visitor Levy. We can do so again.”
Ms Brabin is expected to introduce a tourist tax in West Yorkshire to help fund the mass transit network.
The Government has agreed to provide £2bn, while the mayor’s office has to raise an additional £500m.
Ms Brabin has staked her reputation on the success of the project, with one of the lines expected to connect Elland Road and the White Rose Centre with central Leeds. The other will go to Bradford.
The project has hit a few bumps, with the proposed completion date being pushed back to the late 2030s after Whitehall told the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to change its process.
However, the Government has confirmed that it will back mass transit with funding into the mid 2030s, provided the business case stacks up.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recently announced a mass transit taskforce and handed down additional powers to mayors, to speed up the process.
Ms Alexander said: “Mass transit has the potential to transform towns and cities across the country.
“Creating a better, more integrated transport system will not only support economic growth and new jobs but will also deliver desperately needed housing.
“That’s why I am delighted to announce the formation of the Mass Transit Taskforce who will use their skills and vast knowledge to deliver real and practical recommendations to shape the future of urban transport for years to come.
“Meanwhile, we’re putting power in local hands, empowering mayors to deliver mass transit in their towns and cities so they can make decisions for the communities they know best.”