22 June 2023

In February, the H&ERGP issued the following press release:

Just get on with it!

Hull and East Riding Green Party have urged the local council leaders to get on with securing a devolution deal for the subregion.

Discussions on a devolution deal between Hull and East Riding councils have yet to be agreed even though such deals have already been implemented in other parts of the county.

Local Green Party coordinator, Julia Brown, said:

“There is no urgency from council leaders in Hull and the East Riding on securing a devolution deal for the area. These discussions have dragged on for several years and its time they got on with agreeing a deal.

“Deals have been signed in other parts of the region (the one in South Yorkshire has been in place since 2018) but squabbling between the main parties has left Hull and the East Riding way behind. The deal will be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

“This so-called metro deal is not our preferred option. We’d like to see a One Yorkshire devolution deal as the whole of Yorkshire, with a population of over 5 million people, would be a powerful economic area. However, at the moment, this metro deal is the only one on the table and should be pursued with urgency. Hull and East Riding has lost out on millions of pounds while the main parties argue amongst themselves. This is not something local communities can afford.”

End

Notes:

In November 2014, the Government announced the first devolution deal with Greater Manchester, followed by a deal with Cornwall in July 2015.

In February 2022, the Government published the Levelling Up White Paper. This set out a new devolution framework, extending devolution beyond metropolitan areas for the first time. This included Hull and East Yorkshire. However, as early as March 2020 the then council leaders in Hull and East Riding were talking about submitting a bid. Hull and East Riding council leaders back diluted devolution deal - Hull Live (hulldailymail.co.uk)

The recently agreed devolution deal for North Yorkshire (an area with a similarly sized population to Hull and East Riding) will see £540million granted by government over the next 30 years.