Is Boris return a distraction?

There are some Tories who believe that the capital’s Mayor had his sights set on the Richmond constituency until it was pointed out that the departing William Hague’s seat is 240 miles away in North Yorkshire. Yet Mr Johnson will have no shortage of suitors – the vacant ‘true blue’ Uxbridge constituency appears tailor-made for the old Etonian who will also fulfil his mayoral duties until his current term ends in 2016.

He’s not the only politician attempting to do two jobs; Jane Collins, a newly-elected Ukip MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, will contest the Rotherham Central seat for her party next May in an attempt to exploit the working class vote which has been sorely neglected by Labour.

Yet the Conservative Party would be advised not to allow Mr Johnson to become a distraction. Though he is a larger than life figure who, curiously, seems to be able to converse with voters in Latin or Ancient Greek, he is not yet a MP. There is also not a vacancy for the Tory leadership.

Mr Johnson’s comments on Europe, before yesterday’s fun and games, should also not be overlooked. Though he is content for Britain to leave the EU, he did say – categorically – that he would support this country’s continued membership if the UK could negotiate a better deal with Brussels.

It is a reminder that the effectiveness of David Cameron’s ability to work with his EU partners on establishing a consensus, before seeking concessions, is far more likely to shape the future political agenda than one man’s probable return to the Commons.

Get schemes right at the outset

IT COMES as no surprise that Yorkshire and the North is the poor relation to London when it comes to infrastructure spending. It’s been impossible for successive governments to resist the overtures of Ken Livingstone, and then Boris Johnson, for money for rail improvements when the majority of commuters in the capital use public transport each day.

To his credit, George Osborne has now acknowledged that Britain’s recovery cannot begin and end in London. He is committed to narrowing the North-South divide and appreciates, after years of lobbying, that the North will only be able to become a net contributor to the national economy if capacity is increased on train services.

If Whitehall funding is to be distributed more equitably, it does require the Chancellor to instigate changes to the Treasury’s funding formula in the next Autumn Statement. The cost-benefit analysis needs to recognise the wider benefits to society, both in terms of the creation of new jobs and a corresponding reduction in welfare dependency.

Yet, as the IPPR North think-tank makes clear, town halls should not expect a blank cheque. The onus should be on them to devise compelling schemes which offer real value for money, and the competition proposed by the pressure group will help change the public sector’s approach. After all, the last thing that this region needs is a repeat of the flaws that have characterised the Leeds Supertram and Trolleybus schemes for a decade – these are classic examples of how not to plan ahead.

The point is a profound one – if projects are properly drawn up and costed in the first place, it will be very difficult for Mr Osborne to refuse them after he staked his reputation on reviving the North’s economy.

Transplant pioneers celebrated

FOUR decades after York youngster Ruth Moorhead made history and became the first child to receive a new kidney at St James’s Hospital in Leeds – the donor was, in fact, her father Mervyn – it is only right that this pioneering transplant, and the lifesaving work of surgeon Dr Stanley Rosen, is celebrated.

Even though this operation took place nine years after South African surgeon Christian Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant on Louis Washkansky, such surgery was in its infancy and the risks significant. Today transplants are routine thanks to medical advances.

The enduring sadness is the number of patients who die annually because of a shortage of donor organs, another reason why the NHS Blood and Transplant service needs to encourage more people to consider the humanity of others and offer the gift of life via the donor card scheme.