Councillors vote to back devolution move

At a meeting of full council on Thursday, members opted to support the creation of a “combined authority” for the county to include “as great a portion of the Yorkshire region as possible and including, as a minimum, York, North Yorkshire and the East Riding”.

Cllr Luke Ives, supporting the proposal, said: “Devolution is very much about how we can run our affairs better than Westminster, and I’m sure we can.

“Manchester is starting to do a lot better. It’s doing better because it’s starting to have a voice. It’s time to get our act together and Ryedale should not be a barrier.

“We need to make this work and that’s what the people who elect us expect. They don’t expect their tax monies to go to London. It’s important to have a democratic voice.”

Cllr Linda Cowling added that it would be “very short-sighted” not to support a new authority.

Ryedale was one of the “coalition of the willing” authorities which on August 1 this year - Yorkshire Day - declared, alongside a large number of other Yorkshire councils, to work towards securing a single devolution deal for the region.

Sheffield and Rotherham, however, did not sign. Sheffield is due to elect a Sheffield area mayor next year as part of its own devolution process.

Not all Ryedale councillors were in favour of the move. Cllr Paul Andrews said: “There is a draw to be part of a bigger Yorkshire council. I have some words of caution about that. I would say be very careful what you wish for.”

He said that such a deal would be beneficial to the county’s large urban centres but that “rural areas get nothing”.

Cllr John Clark, of the Liberal Party, said that the proposal is too ill-defined, with not all of Yorkshire councils sign up. “When someone comes to us with something that is better defined, we will vote for it,” he said.

Members voted for the proposal 21 for, four against and three abstentions. The Yorkshire Leaders Board will meet on January 12 in York to discuss the next steps.