'I’ve been calling for a Leeds tram since 1987 – and I still can’t believe we’re waiting'

After nearly 40 years of campaigning, a Leeds MP has criticised Government delays as West Yorkshire Mayor is trying to bring trams back on the streets of Leeds.

Leeds North West MP Fabian Hamilton has been campaigning for a mass transit network in West Yorkshire since he was a councillor in 1987.

And he said it is “insane” the city still does not have a plan and claimed there is an “ignorance at the heart of Government” about the issue.

“Back then we were pressing the then Tory government under Margaret Thatcher for money for a tram,” he said.

“It was promised and it was never delivered. That went on and on and on.

“Leeds is a city with a population of 800,000. It’s the largest city in Europe with no light rail transport system and it’s about time we had one.

“It is insane - Leeds is the economic driver of West Yorkshire.”

Mr Hamilton became an MP in 1997 and pushed Sir Tony Blair for funds for mass transit after the supertram scheme was axed by then transport secretary Alistair Darling in 2005.

“We didn’t get our tram so I took it to the PM in the hope we could actually bypass Alistair Darling,” he said.

“Who was in the room? Alistair Darling saying ‘you’ve got to use buses’.”

Mr Hamilton claimed that Sir Tony didn’t know that buses were deregulated and run privately outside of London.

He said: “There is an ignorance at the heart of government about this - clearly it’s never been a priority.”

Mr Darling’s replacement scheme for the supertram - which was made up of trolleybuses - never got off the ground and was cancelled by David Cameron in 2016.

Now West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin is pressing ahead with a £2.5bn project to bring trams back to the streets of West Yorkshire.

The plan is to have one route to connect with Elland Road and another to go west to Bradford.

The current schedule will see trams running in the late 2030s.