The Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate for South Yorkshire has promised to be the ‘hardest working mayor in the entire country’.
Speaking to ShefNews on Tuesday, Coun. Hannah Kitching discussed the key issues of next Thursday’s election, including the combining of mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner.
Kitching said: “The Lib Dems would be in favour of abolishing the Police and Crime Commissioner across the country and giving more authority to Police and Crime panels. It’s not healthy for democracy to have all that decision making power in the hands of one person. What I hear from talking to my residents is that they want a return to more visible, community policing. It is vital that we involve constituents in the decision making process as much as possible.”
Kitching’s top priority for the region is to get a grip on public transport, citing ‘Labour infighting’ as the reason for the region’s ‘terminal decline’.
“Labour infighting has held South Yorkshire back. The Lib Dems see franchising as the only way to stop the terminal decline in our bus network across South Yorkshire. My day one job would be to get leaders from all the councils on the record saying they support moving forward with franchising.” said Kitching.
The Greater Manchester combined authority, overseen by Mayor Andy Burnham, franchised their bus services in 2017. Coun. Kitching was keen to ensure that South Yorkshire would not fall further behind other northern powerhouses, Leeds and Manhcester.
Kitching said: “The whole region is being held back. It looks to me like Labour infighting. They may all be the same party but they don’t get on and they aren’t working as a team. The whole region needs to recognise that to keep up with Leeds and Manchester, we need to start working together. A lot of my residents know what it feels like to be forgotten. It’s vital we start working together to stop South Yorkshire falling behind.”
The South Yorkshire mayoral elections take place next Thursday 2nd May. Incumbent Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard is heavily favoured to win, but faces competition from Nick Allen (Conservative), David Bettney (Social Democratic Party) and Douglas Johnson (Green).