West Yorkshire mayor announces plan to run for third term

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has used her speech to the Labour Party Conference to announce her intention to run for a third term in 2028.

Brabin, who was previously the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, became the county’s first elected mayor in 2021 – and went on to increase her majority in the May 2024 election.

Brabin told delegates in Liverpool: “I know there’s been a lot of chatter in the fringes this week about the future of our party, about leadership and ambition.

“And, whilst I can’t speak for others standing in front of you today, I will be seeking to lead the Labour Party – in the next mayoral election in West Yorkshire in 2028.”

The mayoral position was created following a devolution deal between West Yorkshire’s five local authorities and the government.

The agreement gave the mayor powers over matters such as public transport, housing and adult skills.

The mayor also inherited the office of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, which holds the area’s police force to account.

Brabin’s time in office has so far been dominated by changes to public transport – buses are to be brought back into public control, and Brabin has committed to having “spades in the ground” for a tram system by 2028.

The mayor has also made tackling violence against women and girls one of her priorities.

After addressing the conference, Brabin explained to the BBC that she had made the decision to run again “very early on” because she was “determined” to improve transport in the county.

“The idea that we would be building a tram, and spades in the ground by 2028 and someone else would potentially going to be driving it – was just not going to happen,” she said.

Brabin added: “There’s more fire in the tank. I’m going to see it through.”

The mayor’s speech, for which she received a standing ovation, praised Labour ministers Heidi Alexander and Lisa Nandy for backing her plans for the West Yorkshire tram.

She also thanked them for lending their support to One Creative North – a mayoral-led pan-regional partnership designed to support growth in the creative industries.

Reacting to Brabin’s announcement, Calder Valley Labour MP Josh Fenton Glynn said he welcomed her ambition to run for a third term and said West Yorkshire was “lucky to have her as a real champion for the area”.

While Leeds South MP Hilary Benn said the outcome of the 2028 election was “in the hands of voters” and added Brabin was “doing a tremendous job”.

The BBC has approached the Conservatives, Reform UK, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats for reaction to Brabin’s announcement.

Kirklees councillor Andrew Cooper, who was the Green Party’s candidate at the last mayoral election, said the politics of West Yorkshire were “changing”.

“The Green Party came third at the last mayoral election across the region and second in Kirklees,” he said.

“Labour cannot think that the next election will be like the last – past performance is no guarantee of future results.”