Yorkshire puts devolution back on the table

New proposals for a Yorkshire devolution deal have been presented to new prime minister Boris Johnson.

Council leaders say the new proposals ‘urgently unlock the benefits’ of devolution for all parts of the region while creating a pathway to a full One Yorkshire devolution deal in 2022.

Former communities secretary James Brokenshire rejected a previous bid for devolution earlier this year saying the proposals did meet the government’s criteria for devolution.

The new proposals have been published today ahead of Yorkshire Day on Thursday (August 1) and would see a series of interim devolution deals agreed across Yorkshire to run in parallel with the existing Sheffield City Region agreement.

Negotiations would continue with the government to have a One Yorkshire devolution agreement completed by 2022, the end of the current Sheffield City Region Mayor’s term.

At this point any Sheffield City Region authorities wishing to be part of the wider deal would be allowed to do so.

An independent economic study has shown a One Yorkshire devolution deal could deliver economic benefits worth £30bn a year or £5,400 per person.

In their letter to the Prime Minister, One Yorkshire Leaders say: ‘Devolution in Yorkshire is critical to deliver our shared objectives, which cross political divides and are about growth in a post-Brexit world.

‘It aligns to your stated priorities of more investment in desperately needed transport and full fibre digital infrastructure, increase inward investment and help our companies export, deliver more houses to meet the acute shortage across the county, quicken the progress we are making in sustainable energy generation and carbon capture, better address the skills shortages in our workforce, and critically, help tackle deprivation, both urban and rural, wherever it exists in our communities.’

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