YORKSHIRE Day will be marked in Scarborough by a debate in the style of Question Time about whether the county should have its own devolved parliament.

The Stephen Joseph Theatre will be the location for the Great Yorkshire Debate, on August 1, which will feature questions being put to panellists by the audience.

Those on the panel will include novelist Joanne Harris, Chris Price, the chairman of Yorkshire Arts, Sue Rymer, commissioner of the Yorkshire Film Commission, and Scarborough MP Lawrie Quinn.

In particular, the effect devolution would have on the political, social and cultural life of Yorkshire will be discussed.

The debate will be chaired by Martin Wainwright, of The Guardian, and begins at 6pm, with tickets costing £2.

Michael Paraskos, a lecturer in art history at Hull University, is the curator of an exhibition about great Yorkshire art at Scarborough Art Gallery, with which the debate is aimed to tie in.

He said: "If Yorkshire was to get its own parliament, it cannot just be forged on economic and political grounds.

"There would be social and cultural consequences, too."

Mr Paraskos said he believed that if Yorkshire had its own parliament, it could become an important cultural centre, such as Dublin after Irish independence.

"Yorkshire having its own parliament would be positive because it would give people confidence which is lacking when you see money being spent by the Government in London and not here."