Get the devolution comparison on an even keel

The Liver building in Liverpool. Yorkshire's prospects are comparable to those of Manchester and Liverpool combined, says one letter writer.

WHILE I understand your campaign for a single voice for Yorkshire, comparing Yorkshire to Greater Manchester is wrong. Instead the proper comparison would be to Lancashire, including Manchester and Liverpool. There is no fight for such a devolution package because of conflicting economic and demographic interests in that part of the North West.

In Yorkshire, there has never been one political or administrative body. Instead we had the Ridings (plus my own home city of York) followed by the metropolitan county councils of South and West Yorkshire, plus the administrative county councils of North Yorkshire and Humberside.

The reasoning behind this was that the widespread geographic nature of our county has always made it difficult to ensure all interests from all of the county could be dealt with equitably.

If we are to have devolution then in economic interest terms, it is necessary to focus on the natural economic areas which, in the Sheffield area, cross into Derbyshire and in the north to the other bank of the Tees. This does not diminish the importance of Yorkshire nor our pride in coming from the county, but puts the devolution comparison on an even keel.