The Yorkshire Pledge is now open for signature. This initial phase of the Pledge is being hosted by Transforming Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire Pledge is an attempt to determine the appetite for an all party and no party community (the community) that supports Yorkshire and the future possibility of some sort of Yorkshire wide administration or government for the whole of the county.
The exercise seeks to examine whether support for the community might be sufficient to make it viable.
At this stage there is no suggestion of what any administration might be responsible for. It could just have authority over cultural affairs, for example, or it might have responsibility for all the public services within the county. These issues could be addressed at a later date.
Some of the thinking behind the idea is that a Yorkshire administration could be highly beneficial in terms of efficiency and effectiveness as it could replace the current administrative shambles with something much simpler which could deliver benefits for the whole region. In other words, any overall administration would be cost neutral or would actually add value.
Some thoughts on the case for Yorkshire wide devolution can be found here.
The community would seek to establish Yorkshire as a political entity within the UK under terms mutually agreed by the people and with the full approval and agreement of the government of the UK.
Signatories of the Pledge are under no obligation whatsoever. The Yorkshire Pledge is an informal expression of support for Yorkshire. The data gathered is covered by the Transforming Yorkshire Privacy Policy, the Mailchimp Privacy Policy and the conditions of the Pledge. All data is held securely and privately. Any analysis undertaken is only done on the basis of numbers and locations.
To sign the Yorkshire Pledge, follow the link below.
More information about Transforming Yorkshire can be found here.