Yorkshire '˜could fall behind' without settlement

Kevin O’Connor, RSM’s regional managing partner for Yorkshire and the North East, is the latest in a long line of business leaders who have expressed concerns about the potential economic harm that could result from the absence of a devolution settlement.

Speaking as he made final plans to move around 300 staff into a new office building in Leeds, Mr O’Connor said that, overall, Yorkshire’s economy is “in a good place”.

He added: “There is plenty of uncertainty out there with the Brexit scenario. I think we’re a pretty good barometer of economic activity, because we are there to service our clients, and we have a broad client base.

“We’re not seeing a slowdown at the moment. We feel the prospects for the economy are good for the next few years.”

However, he hoped that some form of devolution deal could be agreed in the near future.

He said: “I’m incredibly frustrated that things haven’t progressed. Manchester has grasped the nettle and they’ve secured their deal. The danger is, of-course, that we will be left behind. I don’t profess to understand the politics of it all, but to my mind, if we need a metro mayor to secure a devolution deal, then we should do it.”

He added: “If we’re going to lose out economically as a result of this, then that is not a good place to be. I’m not sure a Yorkshire mayor is the right answer. I understand the identity that Yorkshire has, but the needs of the county are quite different, and I wouldn’t necessarily feel that ‘the one size fits all’ (approach) would be the right one. If it was down to me, I would be going for an elected mayor for Leeds, or certainly the Leeds city region.”

The Yorkshire Post has written to all the region’s MPs, asking them to support the discussions around devolution, amid growing belief among a number of senior council figures that a way can be found out of the long-running deadlock on the issue.

Mr O’Connor also called for improvements in the railway network. More than 70,000 people have signed a petition calling for a high-speed rail line across the Pennines from Hull to Liverpool as well as quicker journey times to other cities in the North.