Mayor celebrates budget claiming it’s a “really good day” for the region

Following the budget announcement earlier today, Oliver Coppard, the South Yorkshire mayor, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that chancellor Rachel Reeves had a really tough task in hand but “played it really well” and it’s good for South Yorkshire.

He said: “Things like the single pot settlement are massive for our region.

“We’ve got Supertram investment as well as more money for local government, more for the NHS, minimum wage rises, the apprenticeship levy rises etc etc.

“So it’s really good news for the region and the people across South Yorkshire.”

Mr Coppard was asked whether the proposed £1.3bn investment into local authorities was enough.

He said South Yorkshire has had a difficult time over the last 14 years due to the lack of investment from the government.

He added he wouldn’t say this budget would solve “all of the problems we have” but it is the first step on a journey.

Mr Coppard said: “It’s the first step on a journey to a more productive economy, a better public system; more freedom and flexibility over the money we have, more agency in the region and control over our future, and in that sense, it’s a really good day.”

When talking about concerns raised by businesses how the budget will impact them, Mr Coppard said the budget was ultimately good for business and South Yorkshire needed a thriving private sector.

He said what businesses want was stability, certainty and investment, and “that’s what today’s budget was all about”.

The proposed £40bn in tax raises is the largest any chancellor has made since Norman Lamont in 1993.

When Mr Coppard was asked about this, he said the country was left in a very bad financial state by the Tory government and when the current government got in power they found a big black hole they didn’t know about before.

The Labour government will have to fix this and this will mean “tough choices” for everyone right across the country.