York Liberal Democrats back devolution for the whole of Yorkshire

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Good news from The Press:

Councillors in York have backed a Yorkshire devolution deal covering the biggest possible geography, despite pushes from the Tory group to abandon the "One Yorkshire" bid in favour of a smaller "Greater Yorkshire" deal. 

Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors together out-voted the Conservatives on the ruling administration, and approved a motion which "recognises the potential advantages of a 'One Yorkshire' deal." 

The "One Yorkshire" proposals sprang out of talks over the summer between 17 local authorities across Yorkshire, but has not been backed by ministers because of an earlier deal struck with councils in South Yorkshire.

As Matthew Engel once pointed out, central government monkeys about with local government boundaries in a way the US States would never tolerate. It is a reminder of how centralised Britain is.

Therefore supporting the resurrection of the whole of Yorkshire is a reassertion of democracy and identity, not just an exercise in nostalgia.

Though, of course, in modern time Yorkshire was always split into three ridings for local government purposes. York, incidentally, was never part of any of them.

The Greater Yorkshire deal in South Yorkshire was meant to bring in parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire too, but those councils pulled out of it. Now the whole thing seems to have fallen apart.