Civil leaders’ unity on One Yorkshire tested by Minister
Brokenshire snub deals a blow to devolution hopes
CIVIC LEADERS will hold key talks on ‘One Yorkshire’ devolution today with their unity tested after the Local Government Secretary refused to open discussions on a deal backed by the overwhelming majority.
James Brokenshire has written to Sheffield City Region (SCR) Mayor Dan Jarvis and all the region’s 20 councils, 18 of which support a One Yorkshire deal, to say the Government is “not prepared” to discuss the proposals as they currently stand.
Mr Jarvis is a leading supporter of One Yorkshire and was elected SCR Mayor on a pledge to pursue a transfer of money and powers from Westminster to a pan-regional authority.
But Mr Brokenshire has insisted Doncaster and Barnsley, – which pulled out of the SCR deal to back One Yorkshire after overwhelming community referenda on the issue – must live up to their previous commitments before he is even willing to open discussions on an alternative.
Sheffield and Rotherham still favour the SCR deal. In a letter obtained by The
Yorkshire Post, Mr Brokenshire said: “Until the Sheffield City Region deal is fully implemented, the Government is not prepared to enter into any discussion about wider devolution arrangements that would include some or all of the SCR authorities.”
But Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones and Barnsley council leader Sir Steve Houghton in a joint statement said they want an “interim” SCR deal “in the context of an understanding and acknowledgement that our longer term future lies beyond an artificial county boundary which is not an economic footprint and is no longer fit for purpose”.
Labour MP for Keighley John Grogan backed their call as an “obvious compromise”. He said: “I regard this as very much an opening gambit by the Minister. I think the Secretary of State knows full well that the Mayor of South Yorkshire was elected on a platform of moving to One Yorkshire devolution.”
Tory ex-Minister Robert Goodwill insisted the region needs a mayor with the stature of those in Manchester or Liverpool.
The Scarborough and Whitby MP said: “There’s been too much trying to draw the lines around various bits of Yorkshire to create safe Tory or Labour dominions.
“I can’t see somebody who represented a couple of Yorkshire local authorities, North and East Yorkshire for example, getting that seat around the table with the Chancellor or the Prime Minister, that the leaders of those big conurbations have.”
But Thirsk and Malton Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake questioned why the Government would trust Doncaster and Barnsley not to pull out of another deal.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority called for One Yorkshire to be in place by 2020 to deliver “huge benefits” for the whole UK economy.
Our future lies beyond an artificial county boundary. Doncaster and Barnsley councils, in a joint statement.
THE INITIAL belief that Yorkshire’s devolution deadlock could be broken as a result of James Brokenshire’s recent appointment as Communities Secretary appears to have been misplaced. He is a politician accustomed to the intricacies of devolution after an onerous stint as Northern Ireland Secretary.
Yet, while Mr Brokenshire repeatedly placed the onus on local leaders in Northern Ireland to reconcile their deep differences, he’s reluctant to apply this principle to Yorkshire. Why? On a day that will see council chiefs meet to finesse their One Yorkshire blueprint, and when at least 18 out of 20 civic leaders support this proposition, Mr Brokenshire appears unamenable and actually implicates Theresa May – he is so politically close to the PM that he invariably acts on her orders.
In an unhelpful letter released on the eve of this crucial meeting, he effectively said that the Government will not budge until the Sheffield City Region deal, which saw One Yorkshire proponent Dan Jarvis become mayor in May, is implemented in full. And this from a Cabinet minister who hasn’t had the courtesy to visit Yorkshire to meet elected leaders, and business representatives, to discuss how best to bridge the divide between this county and Whitehall.
Even if Mr Brokenshire hopes councils will reappraise their position, they should not allow themselves to be kowtowed by such interventions – it’s uncertain, after this week’s Brexit resignations, whether the Government will survive for the forseeable future – and, instead, finesse a plan which even the most obdurate and obstreperous Ministers have to take seriously.
With MPs like Scarborough and Whitby’s Robert Goodwill now backing One Yorkshire in public, and elections in the south of the country expressing strong support for countywide devolution, it’s time Ministers started listening. The Government is already on the wrong side of the argument when it comes to the unacceptable state of the region’s railways, the North-South education divide and the future of the Northern Powerhouse.
Does it really want to add devolution to that list when council chiefs have listened to Ministers, gone away and come up with a workable plan which has the potential to transform Yorkshire’s economic prospects and benefit the rest of the country?