Mayor admits now is the ‘opportunity’ to bring new generation of leadership to Sheffield

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard said Labour had “strong results” in last week’s local elections but admitted they’ve still got work to do.

Mr Coppard said: “People have had enough of what this government has to offer but the Labour Party still has a job to do.

“The Labour Party in Sheffield should be aspiring to lead the city. I think too long now we accepted the idea that we are not in power in Sheffield.”

He added they had an “opportunity to bring through a new generation of leadership in Sheffield” and he hoped it would make the city a “different and better place”.

He told the audience at 99 Mary Street yesterday that his first year was “tough”.

Mr Coppard said: “We have done some things really well, others we’ve yet to tackle.”

He added the last 12 months they (he and his team) had to “prove to the government we can do the difficult things and we can take on the challenges”.

A challenge was to try and keep the Doncaster/Sheffield Airport open - something that didn’t happen.

He acknowledged that it was a “disappointing” outcome so far - the airport having to shut - but he praised the compassion Sheffield folk showed towards people in Doncaster.

He said: “There were people across the region talking to me about how they could help.

“There were community groups (set up).

“I think what that shows is that this region does not know how to give up.

“Us coming together as a region, collaboratively and collectively, standing up for ourselves is something I am proud to be part of.

“This is something we can build on (in the future).”

He was talking about being in a “unique” position as in he had held an elected office before taking this job and the challenges they had to face (public transport, the airport, etc).

He said: “I think about my performance on a daily basis - things I’ve done well and things I’ve done less well.”

He said he was optimistic about Labour’s vision (building a more progressive, better, kinder, wealthier, greener country) but accepted that they needed to “articulate” this vision to the people to be able to understand it.

He also acknowledged that “the last couple of years” have been difficult for Jewish people in the party.

Mr Coppard said: “I am somebody who relatively recently was practically or maybe just emotionally barred from applying for a job I genuinely wanted (MP for the Labour Party).

“I couldn’t, in good faith, put myself forward to be a candidate for the Labour Party.

“I recognise and understand entirely what it feels like to feel as though your race or ethnicity is not taken seriously by your political leadership.”

He said he was “grateful to Keir (Starmer)” for the way he engaged with the Jewish community. The party now was united behind Keir Starmer, he added, and everyone was working to get a Labour government in No 10.

However, he added, it was "OK to disagree" on certain issues.

When he was asked about the possibility of creating one, big Yorkshire as part of a new devolution deal, Mr Coppard said it was only a “promise land, partly over the rainbow” - in plain English, it is not likely it will be a reality in the near future.

He briefly talked about the “healthy respect” he had for Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, who he thinks is a “good politician” and somebody who has a “track record of delivering”.

When he was challenged about his promise to improve the economy in South Yorkshire, Mr Coppard admitted it was a “challenge” during the cost of living crisis but added it was a ten-year plan.

He said: “We’ve got world-class assets in this region.

“It’s a productivity challenge. It’s a health challenge. It’s a transport problem. It’s an access to finance problem.

“It’s a confidence problem. One of the things I’m most aware of the lack of confidence in this region…

“I want us to be a region that is proud of ourselves. All the ingredients for growth are here - turning them into growth is a huge challenge.”