YP Letters: Regional assembly would lead to truly local government

Yorkshire should have its own regional assembly to counter Parliament's dominance.

LIVING in the North, we keep hearing about the Northern Powerhouse but there seems to be a lack of impetus in getting to grips with this.

Why, you may say, when the benefits are so great to achieve a Yorkshire (unfortunately without South Yorkshire) regional government which would offer the elimination of duplicated jobs and functions?

The regional government would allow for rural, urban and major cities to have equal priorities in development, job creation and tourism and would offer the whole region a really regional government.

Having worked for a major German company for 23 years, and lived and worked in Germany in a town of over 250,000 people which was administered by part-time councillors and a part-time mayor, the town was spotlessly clean, had a fantastic transport system and a great town centre shopping experience.

This is part of the system which was put in place by the Allies led by the UK at the end of the Second World War now regarded as the finest political system in the world, but it seems is not good enough for the UK.

Unfortunately our unitary authorities are concentrating on the loss of power which they would suffer when the regional assembly would make all the major regional decisions,  making the system much  more democratic and all-inclusive. This might even get more people taking an interest and voting (as was the case in Scotland referendum) and being involved in their area. This would then allow our truly local government to return to the urban, rural and town councils run by part-time councillors concentrating on local issues.

The disastrous flooding that several areas have endured over the Christmas would have been helped by the larger devolved regional governments who would be in a better position to help the region co-ordinate the rescue the action required in preventative measures, as well as the planning function to resist building on flood plains. This cannot happen when you have the current council leaders resisting change and wishing to expand the Combined Authority under the control of current council leadership with no democratic option for the electorate to change matters.

Council leaders should make a New Year’s resolution to move forward and get the whole of Yorkshire in to a meaningful regional government for the benefit of all the people of Yorkshire, and not just the major cities.