South Yorkshire Mayor: Now the hard work really starts

Until now the discussion has focused on what powers and money could be wrestled from Whitehall’s grasp and whether any part of the region would accept the Government’s price for devolution - an elected mayor?

With agreement reached, that debate now moves on to convincing the public that the deal is a good one and worth the biggest change in the way South Yorkshire is run since the abolition of the county council almost 30 years ago.

There will not be a referendum on the devolution deal but with all councils promised the chance to approve the agreement next year’s local elections will be a chance for voters to express their opinion on whether their leaders have done the right thing.

When the last Labour government offered to create a series of regional assemblies it lost the first referendum in the North-East - subsequently scrapping the rest - after the debate became mired in tedious arguments about local government structures and the public became disillusioned. It has taken almost a decade for devolution to English regions to recover the lost ground.

The creation of an elected mayor in South Yorkshire is a huge change and questions over how much power they will have and the checks and balances that will be put in place are hugely important.

But it is vital that in the debate that will take place in the coming months there is a focus on ends as well as means. Ultimately, devolution must be about improving the well-being of people in this region and that is the measure by which this devolution deal, and others likely to follow for other parts of Yorkshire, must be judged.