The public launch of the Yorkshire Pledge has been put on hold.
Transforming Yorkshire provided the facilities to host the Pledge but we did not have the resources to take it forward. We understood that a separate group would be constituted to do this, however, this never came about.
We were prepared to help launch it so long as there was sufficient support but further work indicated that this would not be forthcoming.
We had already encountered some problems in settling on a form of words that was sufficiently apolitical. We thought that this had finally been resolved and agreed only to find that some people wanted to revisit the whole issue yet again.
We were not prepared to change the words to something which we and our supporters could not countenance. Transforming Yorkshire is about Yorkshire; the three ridings and the city of York. Whilst we might support the idea of a federal UK, we certainly do not support some concepts of what a federal UK might look like based on ad hoc regions created in the vacuous minds of out of touch politicians and inept Westminster governments. This is what got us into the current mess in the first place.
Currently the Pledge project is live but is not being actively promoted. The funding for the project, which we had worked long and hard to secure, has been withdrawn. The project could potentially be reactivated at a later date, if there is sufficient support.
To sign the Pledge, follow the link below.
We really need a coordinated, properly funded and properly managed campaign for a Yorkshire Parliament. A Yorkshire Parliament seems to be the only way that Yorkshire is going to be able to get the investment it deserves. Westminster is not working for Yorkshire.