YP Comment: Thinking the unthinkable over Hull's future

IT is too early to tell whether Hull and East Riding Councils will merge after an independent commission challenged both local authorities to think the unthinkable in order to exploit the Humber region's untapped economic potential.
The Humber's revival could continue if Hull and East Riding Councils merge.The Humber's revival could continue if Hull and East Riding Councils merge.
The Humber's revival could continue if Hull and East Riding Councils merge.

Yet political leaders clearly accept the need to review working arrangements in light of the local government spending squeeze and devolution debate – they wouldn’t have set up this commission if they weren’t open to reform – and are duty-bound to consider the findings.

Even though Hull’s social policy challenges are in stark contrast to those East Riding landscapes which inspired the artist David Hockney, these areas have much in common. They share a police force while NHS and education services are intertwined – many Hull parents prefer their children to be educated in the East Riding while NHS services gravitate towards Hull Royal Infirmary.

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And then there is the economy. After years in the doldrums, East Yorkshire is enjoying a renaissance – Siemens is building its offshore wind turbine factory on the banks of the Humber in a major vote of confidence while Hull’s prestige will be boosted still further next year when it is the UK’s City of Culture.

If this momentum is to be maintained in an area with a combined population of 500,000 residents, another key selling point to potential investors, closer collaboration between the two authorities is essential – whether it be developing infrastructure which is mutually beneficial to both or merging council services in order to reduce management overheads.

It does not end here. This future working relationships has ramifications for local authorities on the South Bank of the Humber. And the ripple effect from this decision will extend across Yorkshire – the Institution of Civil Engineers says improved access to the Humber ports is critical if the whole region is to export more goods and expand overseas trade. Given this, it can only be hoped that the area’s decision-makers, far more consensual than some of their more combative predecessors, come to the right decision for not just Hull and the East Riding – but the whole of Yorkshire. It matters that much.

Crumb of comfort: Welcome boost for Morrisons

AS the supermarket sector comes under sustained pressure from the discount retailers, the marginal increase in like-for-like sales at Morrisons over Christmas offers a small crumb of comfort as chief executive David Potts looks to restore the reputation of this Yorkshire institution with his “back to basics” strategy.

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Yet it will still take time for these tentative “green shoots of recovery” to take hold and help Morrisons return to the pre-eminence which it enjoyed before enduring a major decline under Dalton Philips.

Despite a welcome increase in transactions at its supermarket checkouts, and the firm belatedly launching an online delivery service in conjunction with Ocado, this was not sufficient to prevent another 680 jobs being lost, including 90 at the soon-to-close Bradford Westgate store, in addition to the 900 posts axed last September.

It has to be remembered that these results were only achieved by heavily discounting popular products, and recruiting more staff in the busiest stores, in order to win back some of its lost market share. Having previously taken its customers for granted, Morrisons cannot afford to do so again if this streamlined supermarket is to hold its own. It is a difficult balance to strike – this is a sector which will only become more competitive with time.

Mum in a million: Amazing courage of Lizzie Jones

LIZZIE JONES is a remarkable woman who deserves our admiration – and support. Left bereft when her husband Danny collapsed while playing rugby league for Keighley Cougars, she is bringing up the couple’s young twins Bobby and Phoebe while campaigning for new research into those inherited heart conditions which claimed the life of their father.

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She is right to do – the medical profession do need to understand those genetic conditions which can endanger the health of so many active young people. Yet it is a bittersweet irony that it took Danny’s death for this singer to emerge into the public’s consciousness thanks to her tear-jerking renditions of Abide With Me at the Challenge Cup final and Danny Boy at BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Such humbling performances clearly comfort Lizzie as she looks to honour her late husband’s memory by sparing others from the anguish which her young family continues to suffer.