Member

At the heart of that ask was transport and economic growth powers. For our local authorities, it was groundbreaking, based on the premise of connectivity, economic growth, housing, jobs and training. Does that ring a bell? Almost 15 years later, with the new Government, with the same plans and aspirations, we are now delivering that. Transport was at the heart of what we wanted to do. That it is now fully operational is a credit not only to the officers of Greater Manchester passenger transport, including Vernon Everitt, a Londoner who came north and helped—that makes a difference in this day and age—but to Andy Burnham, the mayor, who, to my knowledge, over seven years, had to deal with different Prime Ministers, different Governments and, to put it mildly, different appetites to deliver this devolution. This has given a direct responsibility for 2.8 million residents in Greater Manchester.