'Greater Yorkshire' plans stall because the ridings keep arguing with each other

Plans to devolve Westminster powers and create a "Greater Yorkshire" have become bogged down because regional leaders keep squabbling.

A plan to combine North, West and East Yorkshire into a Greater Yorkshire, supported by Conservative North Yorkshire council, has been opposed by Labour leaders of Leeds City Council, who want to combine West Yorkshire and neighbours Harrogate, Selby, Craven and York.

Ministers are understood to have urged councillors to press on with talks, at a Whitehall meeting on Monday.

Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said:

The ministers have asked us to reflect after the meeting and to see if there are any common areas in which we can move forward.

We are stuck with the geography. We still believe in a Greater Yorkshire - all of the areas with the exception of South Yorkshire.

Chancellor George Osborne has received a number of devolution bids from Yorkshire as different parts of the county compete for devolved powers under his Northern Powerhouse agenda.

He has already approved devolution bids by Sheffield and Tees Valley. Leeds city region has submitted a bid which includes parts of North Yorkshire - York, Harrogate, Selby and Craven.

A separate bid has also been submitted for York, North Yorkshire and East Riding, while another bid is titled "Hull, Yorkshire, Leeds City Region and the Northern Powerhouse".

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