Current political landscape

In May 2021, Tracey Brabin was elected the first metro mayor of West Yorkshire, winning 59.8% of the vote. Second was Matt Robinson with 40.2% of the vote. Turnout was 36.5%.

This page brings together the key facts and figures about the city-region’s economy. It shows what local residents see as the top priorities for the new metro mayor. It also shows what previous elections tell us about voting patterns in the area.

Economic outlook

West Yorkshire consists of the following local authorities: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.

Understanding how the city-region performs on key areas such as productivity and employment helps the metro mayor to assess what they should prioritise. The table below shows how Cambridgeshire and Peterborough compares to the national average on these indicators.

What powers does the West Yorkshire metro mayor have?

Below is a summary of the powers that the West Yorkshire metro mayor has.

Key priorities for the West Yorkshire metro mayor

We outlined three key policy priorities that the metro mayor should focus on in her first term and beyond.

Policy priority 1: Invest in adult education and skills 

• Target support for adult education in areas where it is most needed.
• Use influence to shine a spotlight on underperformance in education

Policy priority 2: Implement congestion charges and bus franchising

• Introduce a congestion charge and workplace parking levies in Leeds city centre as well as clean air zones elsewhere.
• Introduce London-style bus franchising across the combined authority.
• Funnel funds raised back into the wider Metro system.

Policy priority 3: Support city centres in West Yorkshire

• Encourage people back into Leeds city centre when it is safe to do so
• Allow growth in Leeds through creating more high-quality office space
• Kickstart the city centres in the rest of the combined authority area by replacing industrial and retail space with high-quality office space.