Mayor Oliver Coppard invites PM Boris Johnson to visit South Yorkshire to discuss fulfilling ‘levelling up agenda’

Mayor Oliver Coppard, who was sworn in as mayor shortly after election victory, said the PM was right to focus on investing more on places outside London.

He welcomed the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper which has set a deadline of 2030 to achieve 12 key missions in areas like educational performance and transport links.

But he said the task needed in South Yorkshire is ‘significant’ and there was ‘400 weeks’ to achieve the targets set.

Mr Coppard said while the Government has set an ambition for London-style public transport connectivity, currently in South Yorkshire the region’s bus network has shrunk by 13 per cent in the last decade while London’s increased.

He also highlighted that the bus network patronage has fallen by 60 per cent since privatisation back in 1996 while journeys in London have doubled.

The new mayor also mentioned that a train journey between Sheffield and Manchester takes over 50 minutes – the same journey time experienced by rail passengers in 1954.

Inviting the PM to visit South Yorkshire, Mayor Coppard said: “My campaign was built on a promise to restore pride, the purpose and the prosperity of our region: to fix our public transport, develop a clean energy strategy, create healthier, more active communities and build a better economy.

“Your government has made clear its ambition to address the disparities between the best and worst-off parts of our country by 2030. There are now fewer than 400 weeks left to deliver on those ambitions, and yet the scale of the task is significant.

“While we do face considerable challenges, none of the challenges we face are inevitable or insurmountable. Across the 12 missions articulated in the Levelling-Up White Paper, the evident disparities between the position in South Yorkshire and the ambitions you have so clearly articulated are all the result of political choices made over the last 40 years.

“If we are to overcome those disparities in just 400 weeks, then your government must finally recognise and respond to the needs of our communities; our priorities must be your priorities. Our challenges must be your own.”