The leader of Leeds City Council says that she welcomes suggestions to transform transport in the city - but has warned the government that the region needs more than empty promises to level the north-south divide.
Cllr Judith Blake's assessment comes after Boris Johnson claimed it is 'madness' that Leeds doesn't have a mass transit system during a speech to mark the start of his Tory leadership campaign.
The speech in London on Wednesday, June 12 was predictably dominated by talk of Brexit, but Mr Johnson briefly name-checked Northern Powerhouse rail and said that Westminster must 'put in the infrastructure that will lift every region'.
"We need now to level up, not to neglect our capital of course not, but to put in the infrastructure that will lift every region, Northern Powerhouse rail, proper connectivity in the West Midlands," he said.
"[It is] Madness that Leeds should be the largest city in Europe with no metro rail system."
In 2017, Leeds committed to spending £270 million on improving transport links in the city, but the majority is being spent on buses and Park & Ride schemes.
Mass transit schemes were mooted, but several failed attempts to integrate first a Leeds Supertram and then a Trolleybus scheme have been scrapped in the past three decades.
Nonetheless, the local authority has welcomed recent ideas for ambitious transport schemes - with early proposals earmarked for a Mass Rapid Transport scheme that would link Leeds with Bradford, Castleford and Dewsbury.
But Cllr Blake was cautious after hearing Mr Johnson's words, suggesting the council has heard it all before.
She said: "It is welcome that the Leadership candidates are addressing the need for infrastructure in the North but we need more than just warm words.
"I look forward to detailed proposals informing the next Spending Review to give us the certainty and confidence to develop our ambitious plans for Leeds and the wider region."
Her words were echoed by Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, who spoke at the UK2070 Commission at Leeds Civic Hall on Thursday, June 13.
"The north must be at the very front of the queue for the next 25 years," he said in reference to government spending.
Other ambitious plans for Leeds
Mr Johnson is one of 10 candidates looking to fill the void left by Theresa May's resignation as Prime Minister.
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