“I want May’s election to be a referendum on ending privatisation and re-establishing a publicly owned bus and tram company.”
Lewis Dagnall, standing to be Labour’s candidate for South Yorkshire Mayor
By Sam Browse, Labour Outlook
Lewis Dagnall is running to be Labour’s candidate for mayor in South Yorkshire, after the incumbent, Dan Jarvis, announced he’d be stepping down in May. Dagnall’s campaign has ignited attention on social media with eye-catching policies such as bringing the buses into public ownership, putting workers and service-users on the board, and using the new cooperatively-managed public company as part of a wider community wealth building strategy to kick start a local, South Yorkshire-wide Green New Deal.
Dagnall’s platform has gained him the support of Unite the Union, the GMB, ASLEF and the TSSA; prominent MPs such as John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Ian Byrne and Nadia Whittome; municipal leaders, such as Jamie O’Driscoll, Mayor of North Tyne, and Matt Brown, leader of Preston Council, which is best known for implementing a community wealth strategy; alongside organisations such as Labour for a Green New Deal and Momentum.
Labour Outlook caught up with him to discuss his plans for bringing transport into public ownership, and what he sees as the key challenges people face in the region – and how municipal socialist policies and a regional Green New Deal are the answer. Check out the video below.
- You can hear more about Lewis Dagnall’s campaign to be Labour’s candidate for South Yorkshire Mayor here.
- Follow Lewis Dagnall on Facebook and twitter.
