He says it will be his job to act as the public face for the region: attracting investment, driving change and bringing joined-up decision-making while ensuring no part of his large and diverse constituency is overlooked.
A key area of his responsibility will be developing a regional transport infrastructure that isn’t limited by council boundaries.
And speaking on his first day on office, he admitted that he was not ruling out the possibility of bringing parts of the region’s public transport network into public ownership, if that proved to be the best way forward.
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