Britain’s cities are desperate for better transport. Why is Westminster derailing our plans in Leeds? | Thomas Forth

A long-promised tram network has been pushed back to the late 2030s – unless we build local, northern growth will be snuffed out‘As an unabashed socialist, I am concerned with the distribution of wealth, but if you don’t create any in the first place it is a bit of an empty discussion.” For a decade I’ve repeated those words of Richard Leese, who was for 25 years the leader of Manchester city council, in policy discussions across northern England. I have never slamm