West Yorkshire mayor candidate: Tracy Brabin

Labour's West Yorkshire mayor candidate is Tracy Brabin

Born in Batley, Ms Brabin grew up on a council estate and had free school meals.

The Labour Party candidate was the first in her family to go to university and later had a career as an actor and screen writer.

She was elected as MP for Batley and Spen in 2016 following the murder of Jo Cox.

She became the first West Yorkshire mayor in 2021.

Control of buses is the first step, she believes

Earlier this year Ms Brabin made the decision to bring bus services back into local control but says "the real work starts now".

If re-elected on 2 May, she said she would reinvest money into the bus network, improving bus stations and shelters and introducing a single ticketing system.

By the next election, she has promised every bus in West Yorkshire will be under local control, meaning the mayor and combined authority would set the routes "in the interest of our communities, not private companies".

A tram system with work started by 2028 is her aim

Ms Brabin wants to "revolutionise" West Yorkshire's transport network, with new walking and cycling routes along with a "new and improved West Yorkshire bus service".

"We can connect people to training and jobs, as well as speed up our economy," she said.

Ms Brabin said public control of buses would work best if they ran alongside a mass transit system.

The candidate also wants a tram system running between Leeds and Bradford with "spades in the ground" by 2028.

More to do on crime, she believes

Ms Brabin said during her first term as mayor she established the UK’s first women’s safety unit, invested money in security and CCTV measures in bus stations and introduced a new PCSO team on public transport.

She said she also set up a service to support victims of stalking.

If she wins a second term she said she would work with police to set up a serious violence strategy.

She also wants to introduce services to support young people into training, employment and community projects and out of the criminal justice system.

She will offer insulation help to cut heating costs

Ms Brabin said she is committed decarbonising housing to help tackle the climate crisis.

She would invest an initial £20m in a scheme to enable hundreds of thousands of homes to access insulation and carbon-reduction measures.

This, she said, would also cut energy bill for homeowners and tenants.

She added she would continue to support the partnership with the White Rose Forest to increase tree planting and woodland creation.

In her own words