Tom Gordon MP calls for "Transport for Yorkshire" to improve connections across the whole county
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, spoke in Parliament this week to call for "Transport for Yorkshire" - that would cut through administrative boundaries and join up travel across the traditional county of Yorkshire.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the MP raised with Transport Minister Heidi Alexander the challenges residents face when travelling across newer county boundaries, drawing on his own experience of growing up in West Yorkshire while attending college in North Yorkshire.
Tom warned that a West Yorkshire mass transit system that stops at the combined authority boundary would fail the thousands of residents who cross it every day for work, school and healthcare. He called for "Transport for Yorkshire" to ensure mass transit is planned across county divides, not cut off by them.
The call builds on the MP's ongoing campaign for a Yorkshire Parliament with joined-up powers over health, transport and education - so that decisions affecting the whole county are made for the whole county.
The Minister agreed on the importance of connecting people across administrative boundaries.
Tom said:
"Whether it's getting to work, college or a hospital appointment, nobody should find their journey harder because they cross an invisible administrative boundary.
"There's no point in a mass transit system that ends at the combined authority border when my constituents cross it daily. That's why I've long argued for a Yorkshire Parliament with real powers over transport, health and education - policy that reflects our actual day-to-day lives here in Yorkshire, and I'll keep banging the drum for it."
A full clip of the exchange can be found here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/a44ee3be-f62c-4181-a5c4-571f91dc0b8e?in=09:52:01
