The interview with Mayor Tracy Brabin was pre-recorded before she left for COP30; Photo: Jack Bentham
The last day of Journalism and Media Week showcased an interview with Tracy Brabin, Metropolitan Mayor of West Yorkshire.
The Mayor couldn’t attend Leeds Trinity’s event in person, being in Brazil for the Climate Change Conference (COP30), but she pre-recorded an interview with Senior Lecturer Leigh Purves to be played for students.
First elected in 2021, Tracy Brabin was the first female Metropolitan Mayor in the country, being then re-elected in 2024 and recently announcing that she will be running for a third term.
Affordable homes, women’s safety and reduced violence are key points on Mayor Brabin’s political agenda, but she has also spoken about the devolution deal.
“There are some parties that didn’t get the memo” she said, bringing up the Devolution Revolution, language used to refer to the increased power given to regional mayors in the UK through the Devolution White Paper and the proposed Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
“Devolution is the game changer for our country” the Mayor said, bringing up that in order to have growth in the UK, the country needs regional growth, therefore needing to “have the leadership in the regions”.
“Collaborative, cooperative, collegiate” is the way Mayor Brabin described her leadership, but she also touches on how “leaning into that superpower of your authenticity is really important as a leader”.
When it comes to how being a woman impacted her role, it’s not just the pride that she mentions, but also how having experienced sexual violence made her put The Safety of Women and Girls at the top of her priorities.
One achievement Mayor Brabin is proud of is “setting up the first ever stalking advocacy service here in West Yorkshire” and possibly helping reduce femicides through it as “stalking is often an early indicator of a tragedy that’s about to happen” she said.
Talking about running for a new term in 2028, Tracy Brabin says she’s hoping there will be “real evidence of delivery” such as “thousands more affordable homes” and “franchising of our bus network”.
But speaking to an audience of creatives, the Metro Mayor has also brought up her previous acting career, saying that it made her focus on “creative problem-solving” and that “being in writers rooms for many years” has inspired her to “value different opinions”.
Ahead of the local elections in May 2026, Tracy Brabin left students with the message that “they are absolutely crucial to the direction of this country” and that interest in the local council could help keep a stable Labour-only Combined Authority.
When asked about the importance of voting, Tracy Brabin said “If you don’t do politics, politics does you”.
The Mayor of West Yorkshire added “divisive rhetoric just making people so grim and unhappy.
“I am determined for West Yorkshire to be one of the happiest, most joyful places to live and work”.