Getting things done

This month marks two years since I was elected as Mayor. I took office with a simple focus - get things done.

Too many people across the West Midlands have heard big promises before and seen very little change in their own lives. Plans were often launched and new strategies were announced - but the reality for families, workers and young people trying to get on, stayed the same. Or, frustratingly, got worse.

So I wanted to just get things done. However, there were challenges from the start that needed to be fixed.

Most crucially, I inherited an organisation with a £120 million deficit, the Camp Hill project needing an additional £30 million for completion and the Dudley metro delayed and over budget. That matters because when the organisation’s finances are out of control, nothing else works. You cannot deliver trams, train stations, homes, jobs or anything really if you cannot balance the books.

The organisation had been chasing its tail for far too long, bouncing year to year without the stability to back and fund long-term projects.

Promises were made, with no plan on how to actually deliver them. And Government departments were telling me that the lack of delivery needed to be turned around.

So that’s where we started. We had to fix the finances. We had to bring financial discipline back. And I set a clear expectation that this organisation exists to deliver.

Delivery matters

Take housing. Before I was elected, the WMCA funded just 93 homes in two years. Ninety-three! At a time when thousands of families were stuck in temporary accommodation, young people were priced out, and council waiting lists were growing. That is a significant failure.

We took a different approach to get things moving. We cut through delays, worked directly with government and developers, and focused on getting schemes moving. The result is over 7,200 homes now funded this year. That is thousands of families closer to a stable place to live. And it’s above the target set by Government.

Meeting those families is one of the best parts of my job - because I know the change we’re making wouldn’t have been possible, if we hadn’t have refocussed our teams and our funds.

Meeting young people is also an inspiring experience. Almost 20,000 have so far been helped into work or training as part of my Youth Pledge. But, I’m also making a £75m investment in construction skills - and asking the private sector to match us - so we can build the homes we so desperately need. Because it’s not just about delivering homes, but also jobs and a sustainable long term plan to keep doing that.

I’ve met lots of young people who have directly benefited from the interventions we’re now making - and their stories are incredible. We need to give young people a better reason to build their future in our region.

The right track

But crucial to that is transport. This is what people raise with me most. Usually when I’m using public transport to and from the office. ‘Why don’t the buses run on time?’ ‘Why are the trains cancelled?’ ‘Why don’t the buses match the shift patterns?’

For years, people were asked to accept a system that didn’t work well enough, while public money was given to shareholders just to keep it going.

One of the key reasons it doesn’t work - is because it’s not joined up. Trains, trams, buses and the cycle network are all separate. They don’t allow you to easily transition between each. You can’t tap your card on the bus, then return home on the tram - and have one simple charge.

So we are changing that. We have started the process of bringing buses back under public control. We’ll see the first buses move over in 2027. That means we’ll have a system designed around passengers, with clear accountability for performance. It is a real change that people will see and feel in their day-to-day lives. It still takes too long though - two years is frustratingly slow but the legislation is set that way.

Trains came under public control earlier this year, and through the devolution bill Mayors get a “statutory role” as part of the move to Great British Railways.

And from next year, people across the West Midlands will be able to tap in and out with their bank card on any bus or tram, and the system will automatically find them the cheapest fare - no tickets, no planning ahead. We’ll then roll that out across other transport modes shortly after - including trains.

There is more happening too on infrastructure. New train stations are open. Investment is moving forward in East Birmingham, Midlands Rail Hub and at Arden Cross. These are long-term projects, but they all have the same aim - more jobs, better connections, real opportunity.

The Rosewell Review in transport has helped us to design a system to move these projects forward quickly - and I’ll have more to say on our ambitions soon.

But what I’ve learnt in two years, as a first-time politician, is that politics can easily drift towards announcements, launches, plans, press releases or photo-ops.

They all have a place but on their own, they don’t change anything.

And saying things for the sake of being ‘visible’ doesn’t change people’s lives as quickly as I need it to.

People judge us on what they can see and feel. Can they find a home? Can they get a job? Does the bus turn up? Is their area improving?

That is the standard I hold myself to.

The first year was about putting the basics in place. Fixing the finances. Getting the organisation working properly. Turning intention and ambition into something real.

The second year has been about delivery. Making progress that people can start to see.

As I move into my third year, my focus is to keep going - but even quicker. Remove the barriers that slow things down. Show people the scale of our ambition with material change. And make sure more people feel the benefit of those changes. And put this region on the map, and at the heart of the government’s thinking.

In the end, what matters is whether people’s lives are getting better. That’s the standard I hold myself to.

Richard