Today I was pleased to secure a personal commitment from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves on this. In her own words, “Under this government, we’ll put that investment in and get those trams running”.

We can’t sustainably grow our economy without making common-sense investments in infrastructure like the Leeds tram. Mayor of West Yorkshire @TracyBrabin wants spades in the grounds by 2028, and I am confident that this Labour government will give her all the support and investment she needs to get it over the line.

Thankfully, under this @UKLabour govt, things are different. We have a Chancellor who chose to increase public investment by more than £100bn in this Parliament. And just last month, the Prime Minister announced £1.7bn in funding for transport in the North, including support for a Mass Transit system for West Yorkshire.

This stuff isn’t hard. Over 20 French cities have built tram networks since 2000. In Germany, there are now no fewer than 60 cities with a tram. The UK – falling further and further behind when it comes to urban public transport.

We can kid ourselves that this economic divergence is complicated and difficult to sort out. Or we can look at the evidence on how much slower and unreliable travel is in places like Leeds and do something about it. For more on this, see the new report from @JP_Spencer_ at @LabourTogether.

This matters for all of us. The English economy is so very unique – with just one large city with above average productivity. We are flying on one engine. London and the South East are more expensive than they need to be, with housing costs cratering living standards in this part of the country. And large cities and their nearby towns in the rest of the country aren’t fulfilling their potential, and have been falling further behind economically (with the exception of a few places e.g. Manchester and Edinburgh).

Fast forward four years however...and the scheme was rejected. With familiar foes in the form of our unwieldy planning system and coordinated campaigns from local opposition – along with a lack of leadership from government – the project couldn’t get over the line. Worth pausing on how the scheme that was canned here was just 9 miles in length – over 10 times smaller than the tram network of the 1950s. And our politicians couldn’t even get this over the line. As a country, we used to be good at building our future – but for too long now we’ve blocked it before it even has a chance to arrive.

But hope springs eternal! In 2012, a new government approved a new trolleybus scheme for Leeds. The Transport Secretary heralded the scheme as “transformational for growth and jobs in West Yorkshire”. Not a proper tram – but a big step in the right direction.

After years of dither, in 2005, the Leeds Supertram project was cancelled, with rising costs & public opposition both cited. The cost? Less than £1bn in today’s money. Can’t think about this for too long without getting angry.

But then followed abject failure. My theory: national politicians were soothed by high growth rates, and so weren’t worrying enough about the long-term impact of under-investment. Public sector investment was way too low in the 1990s and early-2000s.

Clearly, Leeds should have a mass transit system. The decision to rid such a great city of vital infrastructure was a massive act of economic vandalism. After three decades with no trams in Leeds, politicians realised this and, in 1993, passed the Leeds Supertram Act. In most countries, the city could have just decided to build one itself. But centralisation meant waiting on Westminster. And Westminster had finally stepped up.

But in the late-1950s – by which time the network comprised 124 miles of track and a fleet of 476 trams – the tram met the end of the line. Instead, Leeds City Council opted to prioritise buses and cars amidst high running costs of the tram network and increasing car ownership. The Yorkshire Post reported that the final run of Route 1 was met by a bugler playing the Last Post. A sad day for Leeds indeed.

The Leeds tram was an extensive network connecting nearby towns and villages with Leeds city centre. Indeed, the whole of West Yorkshire used to be covered by trams (in fact, it was Huddersfield that had the first municipality-run tram in the country). And it was these transport connections that helped West Yorkshire grow and its people become more prosperous.

Rewind 150 years and we learn that Leeds did once have mass transit. Its tram network was horse-drawn from as early as 1871, and then electric from 1901. Just look at this beautiful tram:

Let me tell you the story of the most visible example of economic and political failure in modern Britain. Leeds is the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system, and we are all poorer because of it. How did we get here? Why does it matter? And what can be done?

Interesting, this is a well-written thread. Parts of the UK definitely need infrastructure investment, and this would probably be a good move. But let me tell you the real story of the most visible example of economic and political failure in modern Britain (and it isn’t anything to do with transport) It’s the erosion of shared values, the dismantling of national identity, and a political class too ideologically fragile to confront it. Unfortunately The Labour Party is the worst offender on this front and has been for many years. Thanks in large part to the ideology that you and your colleagues so faithfully subscribe to, the UK is now a country where: • Statues are torn down to appease activist mobs • Lawlessness is tolerated in the name of tolerance • Scandals are covered up to protect ideological narratives No amount of light rail will fix a society that no longer knows what it stands for.

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@RachelReevesMP Remind me of this tweet in 5 years when it hasn't happened. I'd love to be wrong, but I'm sure I won't be.

@RachelReevesMP Damn Blair and Brown, eh Dan? Don’t you worry, the Treasury will scupper it before its finished just like they did HS2 and NPR. Eventually some of it will be built at twice the cost but never what is actually needed. #AbolishTheTreasury

@RachelReevesMP More power devolved from Manchester by developing Leeds and Liverpool. Not Labour for much longer when you don’t watch out for builder discontentment. Over-confident to us and under-paid to them, with gradual and deliberate destruction of our remaining Victorian housing supply.

@RachelReevesMP I’m not sure why you seem to focus on other constituencies outside of your control yet never seem to discuss anything about your Barnet constituency - are you not here to serve the people of Barnet? Why not talk about Barnet Fc coming back or problems like traffic in Barnet?!

@RachelReevesMP I'd love an integrated transport system for Leeds, but given that the current/recent administrations don't seem to be able to get paving stones laid flat and level, I think a tram is beyond them.

@RachelReevesMP Oh dear, a very fine thread...concluded with an entirely worthless 'pledge'. I feel almost gaslit!

@RachelReevesMP A "personal commitment" from Rachel Reeves no less! Good luck with that one Dan 😂😂😂

@RachelReevesMP Like you,trams are a waste of money.

@RachelReevesMP I'll believe it when I see it running. And it's all the more important now that trains on Wharfedale and Airedale lines are 1 per hour throughout the actual daytime. Trying to travel from Leeds to Bradford (or vice versa)? Walk half the way.

@RachelReevesMP I really hope this doesn’t come back to haunt you, Dan.

@RachelReevesMP One word. Monorail.

@RachelReevesMP I reported a bus time table missing at the bus stop 12 months ago to @MayorOfWY and @WestYorkshireCA and it still hasn't been done and ya believe "our Trace" is gonna be able to get a ttam system done, she can't even get buses sorted tram talk 50 yrs, not a chance happening!

@RachelReevesMP Would need competent leadership in the City council

@RachelReevesMP @threadreaderapp unroll

@RachelReevesMP I have much sad experience of the bus ''service'' in Leeds 😞

@RachelReevesMP Leeds has buses and surburban rail. Both are mass transit.

@RachelReevesMP @threadreaderapp unroll

@RachelReevesMP Great thread

@RachelReevesMP Make sure you keep the receipts 🙄

@RachelReevesMP You dirty rat