Yorkshire has been crying out for a long time to be freed from the shackles of Whitehall. The absurdity of having mandarins in London deciding the fate of communities here looks to be finally ending.

This newspaper has long campaigned for local leaders to be given greater powers. And while there have been steps towards loosening Whitehall’s grip on Yorkshire’s destiny there have always been caveats

Therefore the Deputy Prime Minister’s assertion that devolution will be the “default in our constitution” rather than “at the whim of a minister in Whitehall”, is to be welcomed.

As is the fact that more power is to be handed over from Westminster including on rail services and housing strategy. Regions suffer as a result of the UK being one of the most centralised developed countries in the world.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin pose for a selfie with regional mayors, in Leeds. PIC: Phil Noble/PA Wire

As Angela Rayner said: “We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power.”

The devil will, as ever, be in the details. But the sentiment of handing more power over to local leaders should be broadly welcomed.

They are directly elected by their communities and have a far better understanding of the needs of said communities.

The white paper on devolution didn’t, however, include the first steps towards fiscal devolution. This would have given regional mayors power to raise specific tariffs. The omission will be a disappointment to those who wanted to see devolution progress in that direction.

Yorkshire knows only too well how frustrating Whitehall hoarding all the power can be. It stifles potential and as such restricts growth.

It is important for different authorities to now work together and leverage their strengths for the betterment of the region.

Devolution across Yorkshire free of Whitehall interference is to be welcomed - The Yorkshire Post says

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