East Yorkshire devolution consultation backed amid warnings of 'rushing headlong' into 'momentous change'

Hull and East Riding Councils both voted to approve putting the deal out to an eight-week consultation, starting in January.

Hull Council leader Mike Ross said the deal would end to the city being left behind while the East Riding's Cllr Anne Handley said it was the start of a journey.

But Hull Labour's Coun Daren Hale said the consultation would deny people a proper say.

Meanwhile Lib Dem Coun David Nolan – the only East Riding councillor to vote against - said the public would see the new mayoral authority which will employ its own staff and directors as "a gravy train and jobs for the boys”.

The vote marks the next step in East Yorkshire's journey towards getting a devolution deal and an elected mayor. The deal includes £400m for Hull and the East Riding over the next 30 years, a commitment to rail electrification, transport powers and a skills budget.

Depending on the outcome of the consultation set to run from early January to late February, the deal would be sent to the Government for sign off later next year.

A new combined authority would then be established from January 2025 with a mayoral election held the following May.

It is the closest the area has got to securing a deal and the one currently proposed is the third version drawn up since 2020.

Hull City Council Leader Coun Mike Ross said the city had already paid a heavy price for being left behind without a devolution deal.

He said: "It's been the case that up until the 11th hour we've said that what was on the table wasn't good enough for Hull and we've been pressing to move it closer to what we wanted.

"Yes the £400m is over 30 years and it doesn't make up for the money that councils have lost over the years, but this funding is only available with this deal.

"This means jobs, investment and growth, Hull has been left behind and this has to stop."

East Riding Council Leader Coun Anne Handley said: "This is about having a direct line into Government and about putting East Yorkshire on the national and international stage.

"For those who say this isn't good enough I say this is the start of a journey to us being able to get better deals in the future. This will mean more investment and jobs and making East Yorkshire recognised as the place where things are happening."

Coun Hale said Hull's Labour group supported the principle of devolution but had concerns about what was on the table. The opposition leader said: "We're rushing headlong into becoming the smallest mayoral authority in the country at the fag end of a Tory government.

"There would be four to five layers of bureaucracy in Hull and the East Riding, that's four or five people who can take money off you and the public should be given a choice, a consultation says they can't be trusted to make a decision."