SOUTH YORKSHIRE'S MAYOR BUDGET RESPONSE

Published 28 October 2026 at 9:33pm

Responding to today’s Budget South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I was pleased to see a lot in today’s Budget for South Yorkshire. At a time when everyone is still feeling the cost of living, today’s budget offers families here some much-needed breathing space, with help on energy costs, wages and some of the everyday pressures we’re all facing. 

“But John and this government have also backed our ambitions for the future. We heard support for Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the Don Valley Corridor, for growing our economy and businesses, developing our work on AI and tech across South Yorkshire, and for exploring the potential of a Northern Olympic and Paralympic Games, to unlock investment in transport, connectivity and communities across our region. 

“And perhaps most importantly, the biggest wave of devolution in a generation gives us more of the tools we need to make our ambitions a reality. It means more power and more freedom to invest in the things we know South Yorkshire needs, rather than constantly having to go to London for permission. It gives us greater confidence to take big decisions, to bring our airport back to life, improve our transport network and back the businesses creating the good jobs of the future. 

“I’ve always said I want us to build a bigger, better economy where everyone has a stake in our success. When we create new jobs, attract investment and grow our economy in the way I know we can, we’ll now see more of the benefits staying here, in South Yorkshire, so we can invest them back into our places and our people. 

“There will always be places where we want Government to go further, and I’ll always make the case for South Yorkshire. But today we’ve been recognised as a place worth backing; a place with huge potential and huge ambition. Now it’s our job to turn that backing into better jobs, stronger businesses, better transport and more opportunities for people right across South Yorkshire.”