Vote on devolution will go ahead
A public vote on whether Barnsley and Doncaster should support a Yorkshire-wide or South Yorkshire devolution deal will take place next month after councillors unanimously backed plans for a ‘community poll’.
A PUBLIC vote on whether Barnsley and Doncaster should support a Yorkshire-wide or South Yorkshire devolution deal will take place next month after councillors unanimously backed plans for a ‘community poll’.
Voters will be asked to choose between the government-backed Sheffield City Region solution or a proposed One Yorkshire plan in a move it is hoped could end the deadlock over the transfer of powers from Whitehall.
Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis said yesterday that a strong vote in favour of the Yorkshire-wide plan could help win over the Government, who are “in a place where they can persuaded to change their mind” about opposing the idea.
At a full council meeting of Barnsley council, every councillor voted for the poll to go ahead. Later in the day, Doncaster councillors also unanimously backed the plan, which was revealed earlier this month.
Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton, who backs the One Yorkshire proposals, said yesterday: “Almost everyone has given a view [on devolution] except the people who matter most, that is the public. They are the people we are supposed to be doing this for.
“There are clearly differences of opinion right across the region but what is clear is that this is a very big decision for us. ”
He added that, while the decision was not legally binding, it would be respected by the council, adding: “There is little point asking the people what to do and then ignoring it if you don’t get the answer you want.”
The measure was backed by councillors of all parties. John Wilson, leader of Barnsley’s Conservative group, said a wider Yorkshire deal “would give us more clout and access to greater funding”.
Doncaster’s deputy mayor Glyn Jones said: “Whichever devolution deal is chosen will have a huge impact on Doncaster’s future so we feel it is vitally important to get a complete view of the community in going forward.
“Now is the time for people to have their voice heard and help shape Doncaster’s future devolution path. ”
Holding the poll will cost each authority £120,000. Every voter will receive a voting pack in the first week of December, giving information about both options.
People can vote online or by post, with a closing date of December 20. The result will be announced on December 21.
South Yorkshire’s ongoing devolution saga began in 2015 when then-Chancellor George Osborne signed an agreement with Sheffield City Region leaders, which includes Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
Under the deal a directly elected mayor, due to be elected in May 2018, will be given £900m over 30 years and handed power over transport budgets and strategic planning.
But in August, the leaders of Doncaster and Barnsley signed up to a pan-Yorkshire proposal, initially backed by 17 of the 20 local authorities in Yorkshire.
Sheffield and Rotherham do not back the plan and the Government says it is not prepared to consider any proposal that cuts across the Sheffield deal. Comment: Page 12.