Council Debates Emergency Motion on Supertram (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

Council Debates Emergency Motion on Supertram

November 1, 2005 4:23 PM

Joint Administration asks Council to condemn Government for refusing to make their mind up on Supertram……

Cllr Mark Harris (Leader of Council and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group) will move an emergency motion at this afternoon's meeting of the City Council. He will be informing Council that there has still been no response from the Government as to a final decision on Supertram, and that the Government is refusing to meet any civic or business leaders from the City to discuss the issue.

Speaking before the meeting Cllr Harris said "The Government has spent months promising the Council, the business community and local MPs that it will come to a final decision on Supertram. The time has come for them to understand that they cannot play such political games with the future of transport in England's second largest local authority.

"This afternoon the Council will discuss an emergency motion' condemning the Government for failing to give the decision on the future of the Leeds Supertram'. The Government appears to have made a decision to let Supertram wither on the vine as our powers to provide the routes run out. They have refused to answer letters from the Council and from METRO. They have refused to meet any delegations from the City, either from business or the Council, and they even appear to have led their own MPs up the garden path, with one recently being quoted as saying he had been promised a decision on Supertram by the 'end of the month' (October) by both the Transport Secretary and the Prime Minister. In other words they have abandoned their responsibilities to the people of Leeds - how else can we interpret this silence?"

The views in this Press Release are those of the Liberal Democrat Council Group, and not necessarily those of Leeds City Council, its Officers or of the Liberal Democrat Party.