Leaders hold firm on devolution stance after ‘parochialism’ claim
THE ELECTED mayor of Doncaster has insisted that the benefits of a Yorkshire-wide devolution deal outweigh the advantages of a more limited agreement covering the Sheffield City Region.
Ros Jones defended her council’s position after the outgoing chairman of the Sheffield City Region local enterprise partnership criticised council leaders in South Yorkshire for failing to make progress on devolution.
Sir Nigel Knowles, who finishes his tenure with the Local Enterprise Partnership in South Yorkshire this week, has accused leaders of “the worst of parochialism and short-sightedness” over a failure to implement a deal to bring increased spending and decision making to the region.
In a strongly-worded letter to South Yorkshire’s council leaders, Sir Nigel claimed the initial deal struck for the Sheffield City Region in 2015 represented a “collective
commitment to embrace devolution and to change the political culture of our region”.
The proposals collapsed amid infighting among council leaders after Doncaster and Barnsley backed the One Yorkshire plan for the entire region.
Mayor Jones said: “However when it comes to the matter of devolution, like others in the South Yorkshire region and beyond, we steadfastly believe that a Yorkshire wide devolution deal outweighs the benefits of a Sheffield centric one and I, for one, have been clear and consistent in voicing that view – whether around the table with SCR partners or to Government ministers.
“That said, we are alive to the fact that the Sheffield City Region deal has to happen and by doing so will enable us all to benefit from a bigger and more prosperous and economically attractive future as part of Yorkshire plc.”
Rotherham council leader Chris Read said: “It is entirely reasonable and understandable that Nigel expresses his frustration in this way. Our collective inability to do what needs to be done in order to secure the tens of millions of pounds of investment available for jobs and the South Yorkshire economy is a grave failing.”