Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: Yorkshire parliament debate

John Prescott is looking into regional assemblies for England

Yorkshire has some of Britain's greatest cities and some of the most beautiful countryside you could wish for. It's even got its own anthem, "On Ilkley Moor baht'at". So is it high time that Yorkshire got its own parliament?

That's the question being debated in BBC's The Politics Show.

A Yorkshire parliament is not an entirely new idea. A Council of the North met in the 16th century at the historic King's Manor in York. In those days, though, it tended to do as it was told by the monarch.

Recently the most powerful driving force behind regional government has been the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who of course represents a Yorkshire constituency in Hull.

Consultation

Currently we are in the middle of a six-month consultation period designed to help the government work out which of the English regions are really interested in having their own directly elected assemblies.

Comments can be sent to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by March 3rd.

When the government has digested these views, it will choose one or two regions which it believes are keenest on the idea.

The smart money is on the North East - based around Newcastle - topping that list.

Yorkshire and the North West - based around Manchester - are possibly vying for second place.

Voters in these one or two areas will get the chance to support or reject the proposal in a referendum.

If they say yes, the first directly elected assembly could be up and running by 2005.

Support

An organisation called the Campaign for Yorkshire is really pushing the idea.

Mark Denten reports for The Politics Show from its annual Constitutional Convention in Leeds, where the speakers include the Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Diana Wallis, the Sports Minister Richard Caborn and Gordon Brown's adviser Ed Balls.

Supporters of regional devolution say an elected Yorkshire Parliament would give people more local control over issues such as transport, regeneration, housing and the environment.

Opposition

A lot of the opposition to a Yorkshire parliament comes from business organisations and from Conservative politicians, including the Ryedale MP John Greenway.

They argue that a Yorkshire parliament would be a waste of time and money.

They believe it would create another layer of bureaucracy, providing jobs for Labour supporters and actually making it harder to get things done.

They're also worried that it could lead to the abolition of North Yorkshire County Council.

And there are concerns that a Yorkshire parliament could be heavily weighted in favour of the region's cities, leaving people in more rural areas without a proper voice.

We want your views

So what do you think? Email your comments to The Politics Show below.

And join presenter Cathy Killick for The Politics Show every Sunday at noon on BBC One.

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