Opinion

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas in a scene from John Lewis's Christmas TV advert for 2026.

Am I the only person to love the John Lewis advert? - Christa Ackroyd

All that fuss about a Christmas advert on the telly. The worst festive ad ever screamed the headline...

Valuable commitment to wind power can enter deeper waters

RWE and KKR’s £12bn commitment to deliver Vanguard East and Vanguard West wind farms signals confide...

David Behrens has his say. Picture by Simon Hulme

Weakness of police 'mega-force' idea: David Behrens

There are really only two kinds of technology: the useful and the pointless. At the thick end of £3,000, Samsung’s ‘family hub’ online fridge freezer falls squarely into the second category.

My simple warning as PM faces crunch week: David Blunkett

David Blunkett

Connecting Yorkshire generosity with Yorkshire need

What if every pound of charitable giving in Yorkshire could be directed to where it delivers the gre...

Climate impact still overlooked in DSA project: Letters

Chris Broome, on behalf of South Yorkshire Climate Alliance, Sheffield.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wants there to be fewer police forces. Photo: Ben Whitley/PA Wire

Police force bun-fight highlights failures: Letters

Should greater efforts be put into controlling office lighting as energy bills rise?

Why are office buildings lit up like Santa's sleigh?

Brand case highlights power of investigative journalism

Columnists

Plans to demutalise Yorkshire CCC are dividing opinion

Yorkshire CCC shouldn’t rush into demutualisation
Being a member of Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been a bit of a white-knuckle ride in recent months. An eventful season has now ended but the drama off-field has continued with many members becoming increasingly concerned about the club’s hasty plans for demutualisation.
Michael Stephenson

Tom Simpson shares his expert insight

How to make Your First Home scheme a success

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Russell Brand case should be watershed moment

Carl Les is leader of North Yorkshire Council.

Brunswick Centre is key to Scarborough's regeneration: Carl Les

David Forrest shares his expert insight

How to ensure a university degree has lifelong value

Former prime ministers Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Baroness Theresa May leave after attending the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London. Picture: Maja Smiejkowska/Press Association

How does Liz Truss have brass neck to attend Cenotaph?

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell speaks during the opening ceremony of the COP31 UNFCCC Climate Conference on November 09, 2026 in Antalya, Turkey.

Climate action should not be about party politics

Letters

There are growing calls for closer links between the UK and the EU

Freedom of movement between UK and EU could work: Letters
John Riseley, Harcourt Drive, Harrogate.

People walking over Westminster Bridge with the Elizabeth Tower, or Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in the background in Westminster, central London. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Donations and lobbying control our political system: Letters

Electricity bills in the UK are among the highest in Europe. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Eye-watering electricity bills are linked to privatisation: YP Letters

Supporters of rejoining the European Union attend a rally to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum in London in June this year. Picture: Brook Mitchell

Undoing Brexit would help nation's young people: YP Letters

A general view of the area surrounding RAF Linton-On-Ouse in North Yorkshire., which may soon be used to house asylum seekers. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Put women prisoners in ex-RAF camps instead of asylum seekers: Letters

Emma Reynolds in Downing Street

Labour minister doesn't understand the world of work: YP Letters

In 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU - but post-Brexit deals kept Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.

Rejoining EU will lead to further manufacturing decline: YP Letters

Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Picture: Chris Etchells

Public money better spent on DSA rather than LBA: Letters

Improvements are planned to Leeds railway station

What Leeds Railway Station's £300m upgrade should include

Sir Patrick Stewart (centre) joined protesters in an anti-Brexit, Let Us Be Heard march on Old Park Lane as they head to Parliament Square in London in 2019. Picture: Andrew Matthews/Press Association

Patrick Stewart passionately believed in EU: YP Letters

Chancellor John Healey holds out the famous red Budget Box in Downing Street, ahead of revealing its contents to the Commons. Picture: Henry Nicholls

John Healey has committed highway robbery on savers

More Opinion

After: local residents are despairing at the bleak emptiness leftehind

Carlton Miniott, Thirsk: residents left devastated by destruction of thriving na...

Ken Cooke, Normandy veteran: if a picture paints a thousand words then this photograph paints a thousand more. Etched across York's last surviving Normandy veteran is the pain, sorrow and sacrifice of war. We must reassure Mr Cooke that we promise to never, ever forget and that we thank him for everything he and his comrades did for our tomorrows. (photo, Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Ken Cooke: the pain, sorrow and sacrifice etched across Ken's face reminds us wh...

SFI27: Farmers tend to their sheep in Studfold in the Yorkshire Dales. (PA)

SFI27: NFU has put farmers' ball firmly in the Government's court

GTA 6 - should children be allowed to play it?

GTA6: Grand Theft Auto 6 - the nightmare dilemma that parents face James Mitchinson

Jo Coles is Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime in York and North Yorkshire

Wrong to assume only mega forces can do effective policing

Scarborough Harbour. Photo: Marisa Cashill

Tourism tax is last thing seaside businesses need

Joan Concannon shares her expert insight.

Ideas born in Yorkshire universities should be scaled here

A hat with the word 'VETO' on it sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Record loser Donald Trump will see his authority ebb away

A general view of Drax Power Station (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Learning from the US as Drax data centre plans move forward

Prime Minister Andy Burnham lays a wreath during the Remembrance Sunday service in London. Picture date: Sunday November 8, 2026.

Brexit: EU referendum was toxic, devisive and destructive. Re-running it would b...

Veterans sleeping rough on the streets: the commitment to ensure no armed services veteran must sleep rough on the streets is long overdue (photo, PA)

Veterans sleeping on the streets: this commitment is long-overdue

Christa Ackroyd shares her views. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe.

My plea to John Healey on high street charity shops

The A64 linking Leeds and York to coastal Yorkshire: send us your thoughts and experiences of the route to yp.editor@ypn.co.uk (cartoon by Graeme Bandeira)

A64 York to Scarborough: is this the worst road in Great Britain?

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley: he believes policing in this country will fail unless serious radical reform is enacted urgently (photo: PA)

Police force merger: Sir Mark Rowley's super-force idea misses the real problem ...

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle speaking during the final day of the Labour Party Conference at the ACC Liverpool in September. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Yorkshire Water's one-star rating is unacceptable: Angela Eagle

U.S. President Donald Trump dances to music as he arrives for a campaign rally at the Ocean Center Arena on October 30, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Donald Trump will be even more maverick after midterms drubbing

Theo Bamber makes the case for greater support for local journalism

How to genuinely support local journalism: Theo Bamber

Ismail Mulla shares his views.

Absence of bookshops would leave a big void

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