Parliament at heart of Yorkshire First manifesto

The party argues that Yorkshire deserves to have a directlyelected parliament because it has a bigger population than Scotland and an economy twice that of Wales but the powers of neither of those countries.

A single police force for the region to replace the current four and making Yorkshire Day a regional bank holiday are among the other policies set out in the manifesto.

The party was launched last year before the European elections where it secured just over 19,000 votes in the region, around 1.5 per cent of the ballots cast.

Yorkshire First leader Richard Carter said: “The Yorkshire First manifesto frames our approach to taking powers away from Westminster to Yorkshire showing the positive benefit that would bring to us here and in turn allowing us to unleash the fantastic potential which exists.

“The aim of the manifesto is to show how, with the right structures, tools and powers we can succeed as a region, that works for all parts of Yorkshire, and builds a more balanced UK.”

The manifesto calls for the creation of a “Made in Yorkshire” brand to promote the region and the establishment of a Yorkshire Futures Fund to bring together and invest the proceeds of oil and gas extraction. The Party also wants to see BBC Yorkshire cover the whole of the region.

Yorkshire First has already selected candidates to contest five seats in the region including Haltemprice and Howden where it will be represented by Diana Wallis. the former Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire, who stood down in 2012 on the ground of ill health.