We need devolution in Yorkshire, not Brexit
Lord Hattersley, Labour politician
Dame Maggie Smith, actress Denzel Washington, actor, Nigel Kennedy, violinist, Terry Butcher, manager and former footballer, Ana Torroja, singer, John Legend, musician, Sienna Miller, actress, WITH Yorkshire (and Humber) having three times the population and parliamentary constituencies as Northern Ireland, shouldn’t our region’s MPs press the Government in Westminster (200 miles south of here) to deliver a Yorkshire devolution deal that reflects Yorkshire’s greater importance to the United Kingdom than Northern Ireland - rather than leaving the matter, which is the key to hundreds of millions of pounds of extra public spending on infrastructure and housing, to Yorkshire’s 22 local councils and 1,000 councillors?
Yorkshire’s 55 MPs dwarf Northern Ireland’s 18 – the latter have a Regional Assembly in Belfast – yet Yorkshire’s regional capital Leeds’ population of nearly 800,000 is more than twice the size of Belfast .
Yorkshire’s population of more than five million people is larger than Northern Ireland and Wales combined, yet the latter has a National Assembly in Cardiff. It was surely an unwise mistake for Yorkshire folk to have rejected devolution when first offered a vote on it several years ago?
Yorkshire has a population as large as European countries like Denmark and Finland and larger than nine others’ populations, namely Ireland, Cyprus, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Malta and Luxembourg.
One third of the EU’s remaining 27 countries - even Kirklees with a population of 440,000 - is larger than Luxembourg or Malta.
Yorkshire is hiding its light under a bushel .
Surely Yorkshire’s MPs need to get their act together to deliver not Brexit but devolution?
What’s lacking is a champion for Yorkshire among the 55 Yorkshire MPs who cost the tax payers £5m annually in salaries and expenses alone.
But who might that be ? restricted locations circumstances.
As an example, my mother had an antique cast-iron range in Honley and was told she could burn coal on this, but this permission would cease on her death.
I also understand it is legal to burn coal in Holme village.
Perhaps Clr Andrew Cooper should investigate these exemptions in detail before calling for a ban on its sale. THE news that traces of Polio have been detected in Melbourne’s sewage system is not necessarily cause for panic, but a reminder that vigilance is needed until the day we finally consign the disease to the history books.
A person receiving the live vaccine in another country and continuing to excrete the virus, is the likely cause, according to the authorities in Victoria.
It poses only a small risk to public health but demonstrates that in today’s global village, Polio can spread across borders as fast as jets can take off and land.
Australia was declared Polio free in 2000; yet while 120,000 people live with Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) in the UK, an alarming 400,000 Australians have PPS – the largest physical disability group in the country.
All survivors must be supported and the £100m in new funding pledged by the British government to aid eradication efforts will help ensure the days of Polio and, ultimately, PPS are numbered.
Now is the time to redouble our efforts and usher in 2018 with a commitment to see the last case of Polio and put a stop to people waiting up to eight years for a PPS diagnosis.
The British Polio Fellowship continues to raise awareness and offer support to those who are affected by PPS.
If you want more information, contact the British Polio Fellowship on 0800 043 1935 or visit www.britishpolio.org.uk