LESSER YORKSHIRE

LESSER YORKSHIRE

In a blatant exercise in gerrymandering the Conservatives in parts of Yorkshire have bullied the Chancellor (remember he needs their votes for his leadership bid) into considering their "Lesser Yorkshire" bid for devolution. They call it "Greater" Yorkshire, I am not sure if this says more about their misunderstanding of the English language, or their desperate bid to disguise their gerrymandering. It obviously worked to some degree as their bid is being supported by their Newspaper, The Yorkshire Post (not sure if that is the Lesser or Greater Yorkshire Post.)

There are though some very serious reasons why the Conservative bid could be damaging both to West Yorkshire and to the "Northern Powerhouse". Some of the reasoning behind the move to devolution is to stimulate Growth in the economy. Between them South and West Yorkshire count for over 90% of the economic activity in Yorkshire, any attempt to stimulate Growth must be concentrated in these areas to be successful. In contrast the main activity outside these areas, with a few exceptions such as the Humber Ports, are based on Farming and Tourism, both activities that require a great deal of subsidy to sustain current levels of activity, never mind delivering any growth.

Imagine a "Lesser" Yorkshire Mayor, probably a farmer or a Tory MP (or both) who looses his/her seat in the gerrymandering of constituency boundaries being pushed through at the moment. Where will they be concentrating their efforts to please their "electorate". We have already heard them justifying their Mayoral bid in the terms of Rural Broadband or tackling "Rural Crime", no doubt they will also be against any developments in the Rural Areas. It must also be remembered that Farmers don't pay Commercial Rates, don't pay Fuel Duty, so they are obviously keen to get their hands onto the Rates paid in the Urban areas to make up for their lack of income.   

DEAL or NO DEAL

DEAL or NO DEAL

Whilst we all ponder over what is on offer and try to make sense of the changing landscape, at the risk of seeming churlish, which I am not; how is an "Elected Mayor" compatible with the statement that "local councillors will have to offer a convincing package of solutions to local problems, (and here's the crunch) demonstrate that they have the ability to deliver them."

How, if we have to accept an elected Mayor, can we guarantee anything? Anyone could get elected and given past results this could be on the basis of popularity, or celebrity, not to mention the "stuff em all" votes. Some people would prefer to spend money to vote a celebrity out of a jungle rather than take a serious look at what candidates have to offer.

Verity for Mayor - Says Jason McCartney

Jason McCartney, Tory MP for Colne Valley wants all West Yorkshire funding to be handed to Garry Verity as the Mayor for Yorkshire. Who is Garry Verity?  you may ask. Garry works for a board promoting Yorkshire and was a member of the team that won the bid to secure the Tour De France Grande Departe. Note he did not organise the Tour, that was done by the Tour itself and a dedicated team of Council Officers.

Jason also backed Kris Hopkins (another daft Tory MP) at meeting stating that the most important issue to regenerate the economy of West Yorkshire is the modernisation of the road from York to Scarborough. It seems the the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have got it wrong, we shouldn't be calling for support for manufacturing, or for more apprenticeships, we should forget about linking West Yorkshire Towns to Manchester and London, or even promoting our Local Airport, perhaps we are misguided in thinking the M62 is overloaded or that we need to make brownfield land fit for development.

Perhaps Jason and Kris share a caravan at Reighton Gap, so see priorities we don't.

Peter Box responds to Uninformed Tory MPs

Responding to comments made by Keighley MP and Communities Minister Kris Hopkins and Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney this week at the launch of a cross-party Yorkshire Devolution document, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Chair, Cllr Peter Box said:

 “Reading Kris Hopkins and Jason McCartney’s comments in the Yorkshire Post, I was astonished at these MPs’ lack of awareness of what is actually going on in West Yorkshire.

 “By joining forces as the Combined Authority, West Yorkshire’s five districts -  including Bradford and Kirklees in which Mr Hopkins’ and Mr McCartney’s constituencies are located – along with the LEP, have secured the country’s largest settlement of almost £630m from the government’s Growth Fund to unlock jobs and growth. Uniquely this included £420m to establish a 20-year £1.4bn West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund, which will bring clear benefits to both Mr Hopkins’ and Mr McCartney’s constituents.

 “In its first 12 months the Combined Authority has agreed a £14m, first-phase  package of strategically important projects that from April, will start to support city centre regeneration, enable the development of housing and employment sites and create new investment opportunities at a number of locations including Bradford, Halifax and Leeds. Further phases of the programme include projects in the Kirklees and Wakefield districts.

 “It has agreed a programme of almost 40 transport projects including road improvements, a new junction on the M62, rail line upgrades and increased opportunities for park and ride at more rail stations, scheduled for completion by 2025.

 “And it has embarked on a landmark programme that is helping residents install energy efficiency improvements in 12,000 homes across the Leeds City Region through the 'Better Homes Yorkshire’ project, which is bringing over £20m of investment into the region.

 “In my view rather than looking enviously across the Pennines, talking down West Yorkshire and proposing new, costly layers of administration in the form of elected Mayors,  Kris Hopkins and Jason McCartney’s time would be better spent paying attention to what is going on in their own constituencies.

 “Instead of singing the praises of Manchester, Mr Hopkins and Mr McCartney should be supporting the Combined Authority’s achievement and ambition and pressing their government to agree the long-overdue West Yorkshire devolution deal that will enable us to build upon our existing successes.”