YP Letters: Clamour for elected mayors is nothing new

From: David Nutt, Huby, Leeds.
Should Yorkshire have its own mayor?Should Yorkshire have its own mayor?
Should Yorkshire have its own mayor?

WHAT is it about the word ‘no’ that the political and boardroom classes find hard to understand? Hardly a day passes without someone having their say about the dire necessity of setting up another tier of government in the Yorkshire (The Yorkshire Post, January 14).

The ‘no’ referred to came from ‘down to Earth’ northern folk in November 2004 when they were treated to a referendum on this subject, resulting in nearly 78 per cent rejection of an elected assembly for the North East.

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They realised that the £11m cost of the referendum would pale into insignificance when added to the running costs of mayors, deputy mayors, assistant deputy mayors, consultants to mayors, mayoral office staffs, transport and hospitality etc.

A similar referendum planned for us in Yorkshire was then hastily abandoned by a government with egg on its face.

Why now the incessant propaganda to resurrect this fiasco? I suggest that those who would gain large salaries and power have figured out that a victory might be theirs if screened by the uproar surrounding our exit from the EU. Notice that there is no talk of a new referendum. This time the golden era will be slipped in quietly once warring councillors cotton on to the benefits that are on the table.