WEST Midlands Mayor Richard Parker hailed the new Labour government’s first budget as “great news” for the region.

Mr Parker said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget mirrored his own vision for the West Midlands and will help him deliver his priorities around transport, housing, jobs and growth.

The Autumn Statement confirmed the West Midlands and Greater Manchester will be the first mayoral authorities to get an integrated settlement, expected to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, in April 2025.

This will give “meaningful control” to the Mayor and the authorities over how funding should be spent.

The budget also sees the region get funding for the Black Country Metro tram extension, a share of a £1 billion pot to protect vital bus routes, a share of an extra £500 million for the Affordable Homes Programme and a share of the £240m ‘Get Britain Working’ package.

Mr Parker also welcomed the Government’s confirmation that HS2 will now go from the West Midlands directly into London Euston as well as further support for the region’s Innovation Accelerator to develop cutting edge green and medical technologies

He said: “Today’s budget was a proud moment for me, as it should be for our country.

“Rachel Reeves showed her commitment to the West Midlands with a budget that fixes the foundations to deliver lasting change for our residents.

“The Conservatives nationally, and in our region, made commitments and promises without the funding to deliver. We’ve had 14 years of economic failure and mismanagement but today we turned a page.

“This Budget delivers on my pledge to secure the West Midlands’ future with real investment that tackles the issues that matter most to our communities: good jobs, affordable homes, better journeys and real growth.

“I’m personally delighted that the Chancellor has backed my Youth Plan with funding to get every young person earning or learning, alongside billions for new homes and a strengthened automotive and innovation sector right here in our region.

“I’m also pleased we’ve got funding to complete the Black Country tram extension – a personal priority for me.

“And with the confirmation HS2 will strengthen our links to the heart of London, these will drive opportunities across the region and this is what it means to deliver for the West Midlands.”

He added: “My goals are simple – real jobs, affordable homes, economic growth and better public transport for the people of the West Midlands.

“Today’s budget will help deliver those local priorities and is great news for the West Midlands, helping us build a solid platform for future growth across our region.

“It will provide money to improve and protect our public transport and for the construction of more affordable homes, echoing my own target to build 20,000 new social homes for those people who need them most.

“I will now work closely with Government departments and our local authorities on how best to use the resources available to secure the maximum benefit for the people of our region.”