Help get a plan for better buses over the line in West Yorkshire!

West Yorkshire's Mayor promised to deliver public control for our region. We need to make sure she delivers on this pledge as soon as possible.

To go for public control right now, Tracy Brabin needs the backing of every council leader in the region. Local people have already let them know we need this change. Now it's time to seal the deal.

On the 19th of June, West Yorkshire residents are joining together to ask their council leaders to back Brabin's pledge and go straight for public control. Please get involved in our Day of Action:

Step One: Register to attend an event in Leeds (10.30am), Huddersfield (11am), Halifax (11am), Bradford (1pm), or Wakefield (1.30pm).
Step Two: Email your council leader (using the tool below) to make sure they turn up to hear why we can't afford to delay public control.

Tracy Brabin

Cllr James Lewis

Cllr Shabir Pandor

Cllr Denise Jeffery

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe

Cllr Tim Swift

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Subject

I am deeply concerned to hear that you have yet to confirm your support for starting the investigation into public control, without diverting resources into a partnership, ahead of the key vote on this issue on the 24th of June. On Saturday the 19th, Better Buses for West Yorkshire is holding a <a href="https://linktr.ee/BetterBusesWY">Day of Action</a> to promote public control. I ask that you come along to your local bus station or City Hall to hear from bus users why we cannot afford to wait any longer than strictly necessary for public control. A strong bus network is essential for the future of our region. If we are to address the climate crisis, rising levels of poverty, and the challenges facing our struggling local businesses, I know that nothing less than public control will do. Our Mayor, Tracy Brabin, was <a href="https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/tracy-brabins-message-voters-west-20501880">elected on a pledge to bring buses into public control.</a> As you know, the legal process involved in using this power is far from simple. If the Labour Party is to deliver on its pledge in the Mayor’s three-year term, it will need to put all its resources into public control, starting now. I do not believe we will see the investigation completed on time unless it is allowed to progress unencumbered by a partnership. You can do it, you just need to be ambitious. Take Ed Milliband’s advice and “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/10/thinking-big-labour-politics-radical-vision">go big.</a>” Partnerships are an ineffective sticking plaster on our chronically failing bus system. They leave private operators in charge of our network. The main <a href="https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/tracy-brabin-moves-forward-on-plans-to-increase-public-control-over-west-yorkshire-s-bus-services/">excuse</a> for delivering one is to “unlock” Government funding. As <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-05-24/6356">Better Buses for West Yorkshire</a> has shown, this is not the case. <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-05-24/6356">This has even been confirmed in Parliament!</a> The Centre for Cities released a report this week calling on Mayor’s “<a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/get-on-board-bus-franchising/">get on board</a>” with public control. Importantly, they highlighted that partnerships are not “a stepping stone” to public control, but will serve as a distraction. I know that, over the last week, hundreds of West Yorkshire people have been in touch with you about the urgency of this issue ahead of your decision on the 24th of June. We all asked that you get in touch to clarify your position by the 10th of June. That date has now passed. Will you vote to deliver public control, no ifs, no buts, on Thursday the 24th of June? I welcome a response on this issue as soon as possible. Please respond to my email to confirm you will join our Day of Action event <a href="http://linktr.ee/BetterBusesWY">near you</a>.

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