Yorkshire’s identity is county’s best asset; don’t let Ministers divide and rule – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE Local Government Act 1972 was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Government. It was surpassed only by the other 1972 Act which took the UK into the EEC.

The changes that were subsequently imposed on Yorkshire on April 1, 1974, have detrimentally affected our county ever since. The impact has ricocheted down the decades for nearly 50 years. We have been denied the chance to work together. Our institutions have been split. We have been accused of ‘hating each other’ when the reality is that we have been subject to ‘divide and rule’.

Identity matters. Who we are and what we chose to do is fundamental. It may seem a small thing, but the boundaries of Yorkshire are older than those of England, but were effectively changed at the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen.

Today we inherit a jumble of institutions and bodies that haphazardly sit across the more than five million people of Yorkshire.

We don’t even have a sign saying ‘Yorkshire’ on the M1 – who would be responsible for erecting it? Little is joined up and we are told it’s now going to change again in the name of ‘devolution’.

It’s simply not fair that our historic identity is treated this way. Imagine if Scotland were broken up into competing ‘city regions’ without any oversight.

If the Government wants to do something for the people of Yorkshire, then recognise us for the ancient place that we are and, at the very least, base our governing structures on our historic borders and differing geographies.

An effective fix could be to return most of Craven, Harrogate and Selby to a West Riding entity, and reinstate the rump of North Yorkshire as the North Riding (with Middlesborough included in the ceremonial county of the North Riding in the same way that it is included in that of North Yorkshire today). York stands alone.

You may ask what has identity and brand to do with prosperity? The answer is everything.

From: James Buick, Northallerton.

IF the Government is so committed to localism, why is it is imposing its own will on devolution rather than leaving it to communities to decide their governance? If Ministers did so, we would be One Yorkshire with one mayor serving the whole county – and not the current hotch-potch being drawn up.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson