Mayor says immigration is 'not an invasion'

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin took part in Message the Mayor for BBC Radio Leeds

The Mayor of West Yorkshire says the debate around immigration has been "hijacked" by some politicians and most people want to see a "fair and equitable scheme" they can get behind.

Labour's Tracy Brabin has been answering questions on Message the Mayor on BBC Radio Leeds.

She has also been talking about the use of asylum seeker hotels, bus services, building on green belt land and business rates.

Read our takeaways from the interview below or listen to the full interview here.

Language around immigration is unacceptable

"Immigration has been hijacked as a topic of concern by some politicians and we would be led to believe there is an invasion.

"It is not an invasion - that language is unacceptable and unnecessary."

Brabin says the public wants an immigration system that is "fair", and that the Home Secretary is trying to work with other European countries to make "grown-up decisions".

Asylum hotels are a poor solution

"Since March this year, a third of hotels being used to house asylum seekers have been closed.

"It is a point of tension in communities, when a whole group of people who don't look or sound like you suddenly land in your community.

"But we can't allow this to be used against a small group of people in West Yorkshire, to say they are the source of all of our problems - because they are not."

The latest figures from the Home Office showed 1,021 asylum seekers were housed in hotels in West Yorkshire.

Brownfield first choice for new homes

"More than 100,000 people are on the council waiting list for housing. That's families - it is our friends and our neighbours desperate to get better housing, so we do have a job to do.

"For me, it's always brownfield first. We have spent more than £90m remediating brownfield land, making it fit to build on."

The mayor had been asked about a consultation to build housing and a solar farm on green belt land in New Farnley.

Buses need to work for people's lives

"People need a bus that can get them to a 6am shift, or a late bus because their shift finishes at 10 in the evening.

"That's what we're looking at when we're bringing buses back into public control."

Buses in West Yorkshire are being brought under the control of the mayor. In future, they will operate under the Weaver Network brand.

A lack of investment has hurt communities

"The public, for 14 years of the previous government, have just been witness to an erosion about all that was good about living in Britain. Things like good public services, jobs and public transport.

"The government has given more freedom and flexibility to mayors and that won't just see change in the centre but in our communities."

Local authorities across the country have had to make billions of pounds worth of savings since 2010 as the amount of money they get from the government has fallen.