Most of the headlines from last week’s Great Northern Conference understandably focused on what Chancellor Rachel Reeves had to say but there was plenty more for attendees to get their teeth into on the day.

I was particularly struck by the discussion with two of Yorkshire’s three current mayors, Tracy Brabin and David Skaith, and a person who hopes to be the fourth in Anne Handley, the current leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Conservative candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election in May.

Long-held aspirations for a single Yorkshire mayor through a One Yorkshire devolution deal were knocked down by the Tories in 2019 before Keir Starmer confirmed in 2022 that Labour was not going to revive the idea.

However, all three politicians on stage rightly spoke of how finally having four mayors for every corner of Yorkshire will give the region a really powerful voice.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves talks to Yorkshire Port Westminster correspondent Ralph Blackburn

placeholder image — Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves talks to Yorkshire Port Westminster correspondent Ralph Blackburn

Mr Skaith compared the potential to the close collaborations frequently seen between Manchester and Liverpool due to joint working between Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, while Ms Brabin suggested the arrival of the fourth mayor could be the equivalent of actually having a One Yorkshire deal.

Some may question whether if you have four mayors speaking with a shared voice for Yorkshire if just one might be better value and more effective for the taxpayer.

But given the political state of play on that point will not be changing any time soon, the fourth panellist on stage for the session, Hull Council chief executive Matt Jukes, rightly identified that having four mayors represents a “fantastic opportunity” for the region.

Indeed, while Councillor Handley is far from guaranteed to be the winner in the Hull and East Yorkshire election, her presence on stage immediately underlined how a region having a mayor allows them to be ‘in the conversation’ (quite literally in this instance) and better make the case for their area getting the support they need from Government.

That point was further demonstrated when Coun Handley later directly challenged Rachel Reeves over whether £300m of funding which had previously been promised for local transport schemes following the cancellation of HS2 would still be delivered by Labour.

Ms Reeves gave a non-committal reply that Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner would be making an announcement “in due course”.

However that situation plays out, it shows how much it easier it is to bring regional issues to national attention when you have an elected politician able to be the face of their area.

Delays in getting a devolution deal done for Hull and East Yorkshire have undoubtedly hindered the region.

The clearest example of this is Teesside and Merseyside being able to speed ahead with carbon capture proposals while the Humber has been left behind – despite having a case that is at very least equivalent to those two locations, if not even stronger. It is hard to believe that would have been allowed to happen if the region had been represented by a mayor able to make a more visible fuss about it in the corridors of power and at conferences like the GNC.

Hopefully the days of playing catch up with soon be behind it – to the benefit of not just Hull and East Yorkshire but the whole of Yorkshire.