Why North Yorkshire and York needs new mayor to unlock extra powers and funding

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, has written to every councillor on what will be the new North Yorkshire Council to urge them to back the creation of a mayoral role for the region.

It comes after the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper specified that only areas with directly-elected mayors could hold devolved powers such as receiving a long-term investment fund; establishing development corporations to lead local regeneration projects and being given priority for improvements to rail services and stations.

A spokesperson for Michael Gove's Levelling Up Department today confirmed that the Government wants to see more areas have "a high-profile, directly elected leader".

Last week’s elections saw 90 councillors voted onto what will become the new unitary authority of North Yorkshire Council from next year - replacing the existing county council and seven district councils. While the Conservatives have majority control of the new system, their vote share plummeted across the region with them now holding just 52 per cent of seats compared to 76 per cent under the old county council system.

The shake-up is a key requirement from the Government for a potential devolution deal for North Yorkshire and York, with the latter council continuing as a unitary authority to run in tandem with the new North Yorkshire Council.

The deal is currently being negotiated with the Government, with an announcement on an offer for devolution expected this summer before public consultations are staged later in the year.

Mr Murison has written to every North Yorkshire councillor urging them to work cross-party to get the best possible devolution deal for the region.

“The maximum powers and funding are only available for a devolution deal with a directly elected mayor. As the Tees Valley has proven, a large urban metropolitan area is not a prerequisite and the mayoral model can prove hugely successful in areas where the economic geography is dominated by towns. Locally-led economic growth strategies to raise productivity in areas such as these are vital.

“The North of Tyne Combined Authority shares much of its geography with the Borderlands Growth Deal, which included Carlisle, parts of Scotland and rural Northumberland – and these places are already reaping the benefits.

“Devolution is flourishing in some places while stalling in others. It is not right that Cumbria or North Yorkshire should miss out on empowered local leadership - nor the government funding which goes hand in hand with it.

“Metro mayors are needed for cities, towns, and rural areas alike if we are serious about building a truly productive, prosperous Northern Powerhouse. Today we ask you to take the pledge to work cross party with all your newly elected colleagues and neighbouring authority to back devolution with a Directly Elected Mayor. Businesses and voters alike are increasingly aware of what devolution means for their local communities – not least due to the huge amount of Government funding on offer.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We want to see more areas with a high-profile, directly elected leader who will be accountable to local citizens and act as a champion for their areas.

“The Levelling Up White Paper outlines plans for a devolution deal with York and North Yorkshire and we are keen to work together with local leaders in the region to transform communities and respond to local priorities.”

York council leader Keith Aspden has previously said while the mayoral system is “not perfect”, he would be taking a pragmatic approach to negotiations.

North Yorkshire dwarfs Liberal Democrat-run York in terms of scale and population, and any elected mayor is likely to be a Conservative .

Coun Aspden said earlier this year: “Government has made it absolutely clear that the way to get the best deal in terms of funding and power is to look at a Mayoral Combined Authority. And in that sense, I am pragmatically approaching it in terms of getting the best deal for York and North Yorkshire. It would be letting down residents and businesses to not even look.”

While both West and South Yorkshire have existing devolution deals and Labour mayors in Tracy Brabin and newly-elected Olver Coppard, there are currently no plans for one in East Yorkshire.

Proposals for a Hull and East Riding devolution deal are currently progressing on the basis that the two councils do not want a mayor and would instead prefer a combined authority chaired by one of the council bosses on a rotating basis. It is unclear whether that situation will change as a result of the Liberal Democrats taking control of Hull Council from Labour in this month's local elections.

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