Addressing the Transport for the North annual conference, Tracy Brabin also spoke of her frustration with the “endless rounds of beauty contests” where local authorities “compete for small pots of time limited cash”.

She welcomed the appointment of Michael Gove to lead the new Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, saying she is “hopeful we will see a step change in Government’s approach with him at the helm”. But there needs to be more than just name changes to departments, she added.

“Rebalancing our economy needs mayors and local leaders – those of us closest to the issues – to be able to make decisions and not to have to leave it to strangers in Whitehall and Westminster. We need to be empowered and given the resources to do the things that need to be done.”

The mayor said she is proud of recent transport schemes locally such as the new platform zero at Leeds railway station. But projects such as this “are not being delivered at the scale or the speed that we need to see across the north. We need to be given sufficient powers and funding to decide our own destiny”.

Transport for the North’s chief executive Martin Tugwell spoke of the benefits to the region of an improved network – contributing to a predicted £100Bn increase in the economy and 850,000 additional jobs – and the importance of decarbonising the transport system.

“For me, Levelling Up is about doing things differently,” he remarked. “Taking the funding we have and making the best possible use of it. Who is better placed than leaders of the north to understand how to make the differences that communities and businesses in the north need?"

Martin called for devolved decision making and a longer term funding commitment from Government. “Let’s be clear, strategic infrastructure takes a long time to deliver; we need to have the confidence of successive Governments that once we start, we will deliver on it.”

Tracey Brabin agreed, calling for a commitment from Government “to genuinely invest in the north” beyond “pockets of funding” and “short termism that limits our ambitions”.

(Photographs: Leeds City Council / Scott Ramsey Photography)