South Yorkshire Mayor has Covid and misses trip to Downing Street to meet Prime Minister

The Labour mayor said: “The relationship between the government and mayors is central to restoring growth across the country. That is why I am so pleased that in their first full week in office, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have sent a clear signal that they want to work with mayors to deliver bigger and better local economies that allow everyone to stay near and go far.

“South Yorkshire is home to the largest cleantech cluster in the UK and the world’s first and best advanced manufacturing innovation district. By capitalising on these unique strengths in partnership with government, we can create a healthier, wealthier and greener South Yorkshire.”

The mayor, who was at the Sheffield general election count on Thursday night to see Labour MPs elected in all six constituencies, had already written to new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to invite him to South Yorkshire for talks about the region’s future.

All 10 elected ‘metro’ mayors came together with the Prime Minister and his deputy Angela Rayner today to talk about devolving more power from Whitehall to the regions.

Ms Rayner used the meeting to mark the beginning of a process of establishing local growth plans across the country. She called on mayors to identify local specialisms and contribute to work on a national industrial strategy.

Mayor Coppard sent a letter on Friday (July 5) to Keir Starmer, offering him his “warmest congratulations” on the election result. All South Yorkshire MPs are now Labour.

Devolution

He said: “Greater devolution is the platform that will allow us to grow South Yorkshire’s economy, attract investment, create more good jobs in the industries of the future, and give people the opportunities to stay near and go far.”

He added he would be “delighted to welcome you to South Yorkshire, and to show you exactly how we are working to drive that new approach to growth, not just to the benefit of our communities here but the benefit of our whole country.

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“South Yorkshire, with our unique assets, expertise, and emerging industrial strategy, can play a vital role in our national renewal. We are leading the way across vital parts of the digital, health, and advanced manufacturing and materials economy.

“We are home to one of the largest CleanTech clusters in the country, with unique capabilities across power, propulsion and production. We have world-class health-tech and digital sectors.

“But we can do so much more.”

He proposed a joint plan “to help deliver visible change in South Yorkshire”. The key points are:

• Reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport and creating a hub for sustainable aviation.
• Developing plans for all communities benefit from South Yorkshire’s tram and tram-train network.
• Creating an integrated public transport system linking up with active travel and setting up a tough new passenger watchdog to drive up standards.
• Agreeing a joint growth plan to create growth at scale in sectors across advanced manufacturing and materials, such as small modular reactor technology.
• Piloting new ways of delivering health improvements and tackling economic inactivity and improving cancer survival rates.
• Making sure young people have the safety and security they need to thrive, including working to prevent knife crime and its causes.