"But what has the mayoral precept ever done for us?"

Well, apart from the £2 bus fares...

OK, apart from the £2 bus fares AND the free all-day bus travel for older and disabled people...

Yes, but apart from the £2 bus fares, free bus travel for older and disabled people, and the new Stockport Central fire station...

And the 52 fire engines across Greater Manchester, TravelSafe LiveChat so you can report problems on buses 24/7, free bus travel for homeless kids, the A Bed Every Night scheme, new bus routes, Our Pass for young people, and dedicated GMP officers keeping you safe on public transport...

OK, but apart from ALL of that, what has the mayoral precept ever done for us?

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We have seen local Reform candidates claiming the mayoral precept is not transparent. That is simply not true.

Every penny is set out in documents publicly available on the GMCA website for anyone to read. If they choose not to read the documents then that is on them.

Here are some of the things that the increase pays for:

- The £2 bus fare cap maintained across all Bee Network services

- Free all-day bus travel for older and disabled people (no more 9.30am cut-off)

- New bus routes and more frequent services, including 24 hour 192

- 24/7 TravelSafe LiveChat and dedicated GMP officers on public transport

- Free bus travel for children in temporary accommodation

- Half price bus fares for 18-21 Year olds.

- A brand new fire station in Stockport

- 52 fire engines protecting Greater Manchester

- The "A Bed Every Night" rough sleeper scheme

- Our Pass for young people

- Local rail integration into the Bee Network from later this year

Now, about Reform and their concern for your council tax bill. Every single Reform-run council in England has raised council tax this year. Worcestershire by 9%. Lancashire by 5%. Derbyshire by 4.99%. Even Reform's own head of their "Doge" cost-cutting unit admitted publicly that council tax reductions under Reform "are not going to happen".

So when you hear them complain about the mayoral precept, which of these things would they cut?

Would they scrap the £2 fare cap? Take away all day free bus travel from disabled people? Close the new fire station? End the rough sleeper scheme? Pull GMP officers off the buses?

Which one? Because you cannot stand on a doorstep and tell people the precept is a waste of money without telling them what you would take away from them.

Complaining is easy. Slogans are easy. Running a city region of 2.8 million people is not. That means public transport, fire and rescue, policing, homelessness, skills and training, housing, and delivering good growth that reaches every borough, not just the city centre. The GMCA does all of that, and the Bee Network alone has continued to be delivered on time and on budget. That is what delivery looks like. Reform have slogans. Andy Burnham has results.

As always please get in touch if you wish to discuss.

Jon