Brexit, Catalonia, Scotland… Yorkshire? ‘God’s own county’ is pushing for devolved independence
As someone who lives in one of the least defined “regions” England – the East Midlands – I am tempted to ask what all the fuss is about. But then I might be courting controversy and the issues flagged up here are worthy of serious debate. This story tells us:
There’s a wind of separation in the air at the moment. Brexit, of course. Catalonia. But Yorkshire doesn’t want to withdraw from the UK – it wants independence of a different kind: the independence to spend its share of public funding where it’s best needed.
Some context. Yorkshire as a region has a population of almost 5.4 million, greater than that of Scotland. It’s economy is bigger than that of Wales. It has an area of nearly 12,000 sq km, comprising coastline, mountains, miles of open countryside and cities. Three of the 10 largest cities in the UK – Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford – are in Yorkshire.