Politically speaking: Tracey Brabin MP - We need 'concrete action' in the North

Spring can’t be far away, and with the vaccine roll out being so brilliantly handled by our local surgeries, councils and community groups, I know there is light at the end of the tunnel out of this awful year.

I’m proud too that Matt Hancock wrote to congratulate us for being one of the best performing networks in the country.

But to recover properly where we flourish rather than just hang on, we need the backing of government in a practical way. We need the money promised to us at the beginning of this pandemic.

Last week, the former Northern Powerhouse minister, Jake Berry, spoke about how the Conservative government should create a “big bang” for northern investment, and while I don’t disagree, we need opportunities to create good jobs and encourage investment. We’ve seen time and again how words don’t seem to translate into concrete action.

We’ve had the Northern Powerhouse, Northern Powerhouse Rail, promises to move government departments north and increase government investment, and now the so called “Big Bang”. None of these have created any material change in our lives. Experience shows the north has been abandoned again and again by government.

Locally many businesses have been forced to close, many for good, in part due to the pandemic but also in part due to the government’s lack of financial support for communities like ours, a fact that Covid has exposed.

If we are to grow and recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t want to go back to how it was before. I don’t want to see the erosion of our high street, young people leaving towns and villages because there are no jobs, with people queuing at foodbanks because the cost of living has risen to the point where their jobs don’t pay enough to put food on the table.

Last Thursday, Keir Starmer set out his vision for Britain.

He spoke about how we are at a historic fork in the road, how we can choose to go back to how things were, or we can move forward with drive and imagination to tackle issues that have been laid bare by the pandemic, issues that have held us back from fulfilling our true potential. How it shouldn’t be that you have to leave home, your friends and your family to fulfil your potential, and how our Covid Recovery Bonds will enable our community to genuinely flourish.

Running for mayor of West Yorkshire, I see every day the urgency around tackling child poverty, homelessness, our terrible transport system, lack of affordable housing and lack of opportunity for our young people; how we are crying out for a proud, ambitious and confident vision of the future. A future only a strong Yorkshire voice, standing firm against the government for our cities, towns and villages can deliver.

It’s time not just for warm words or hollow statements, we can create a glorious future for West Yorkshire, but only by working together.

If you need help or support, you can always email my office on [email protected] or call 01924 900036.