Tracy Brabin rules out business class flight for India trip

The Mayor of West Yorkshire says she will not be flying business class when she goes to India later this month on a trade mission.

Labour's Tracy Brabin has been answering questions on Message the Mayor on BBC Radio Leeds.

She has also been talking about the early release of prisoners, the new buses being built for West Yorkshire and increasing investment in the area.

Read our takeaways from the interview below or listen to the full interview here .

Never flown business or first class on the public purse

Last month, the mayor was asked if she would be flying business or economy class on an upcoming trade mission to India.

Today, Brabin has confirmed she will not be flying business - and never has, at taxpayers' expense.

"I'm a Yorkshire woman - I know the value of things.

"But jet lag is a real thing and I want to work really hard for the people of West Yorkshire. It's breakfast meetings right through to the evenings - these are long days and intense."

Not all Weaver Network buses will be brand new

"Where the older buses don't meet our new, better standards, they'll be cascaded elsewhere.

"It's a combination of how old are they, are they not fit for purpose?

"[The new buses] have air conditioning, two spaces for wheelchairs and a buggy, you can charge your phone.

"What we want, in time, is for the whole of the network to have these new electric buses."

The first of the new Weaver Network buses have started rolling off the production line in Northern Ireland.

We need to work together to tackle rough sleeping

Brabin was asked how she is responding to the Prime Minister's call to offer all rough sleepers accommodation this winter.

"I have got extra resources and of course I'm working with local authorities - because they know their area best - and also the voluntary and community sector.

"So it's not just me - it's a community that is going to respond to this really wicked issue on our streets."

But the mayor says, as well as finding temporary accommodation, it is important to build more affordable homes so people can "rebuild their lives."

We need to drive up the money in people's pockets

The theme of last week's Labour Party conference was "hope again". Kate from Leeds asked the mayor what her "biggest hope" is for West Yorkshire.

"We have got to level up West Yorkshire in relation to the rest of the country.

"I am doing everything I can to bring in more investment and create more jobs, getting more people into colleges and increase connectivity so people can move around our region.

"If we can grow our economy, and I am hopeful that we will, then people will have more money in their pockets."

After recently being the victim of a burglary, Nicola from Keighley asked the mayor what is being done to stop criminals reoffending once they are released from jail.

"We want to make sure in West Yorkshire that we can stop that - by rehabilitating offenders and providing opportunities for them to get into work to build a decent life," says Brabin.

"My job as the Police and Crime Commissioner is also to prevent crime."

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