Listening on North Yorkshire re-organisation

17th September, 2020

Today, Rachael Maskell MP for York Central and Cllr Danny Myers, the Labour Leader of the Opposition on City of York Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP to set out opposition to a carve up of North Yorkshire and to ask that the Government put people first and not impose a top-down reorganisation designed in Whitehall.

The MP for York Central is gathering views of residents, businesses and trades-unions about their thoughts on Local Government in advance of the White Paper being published by Government this Autumn to re-organise North Yorkshire’s Local Government boundaries.

Rachael Maskell MP says:
“You have to question why at such a time as the Government is overseeing one of the world’s worst responses to the global Covid-19 pandemic, that they feel like now is the time to set about re-organising local government boundaries.

“Labour believes in self-determination, from the bottom-up rather than the top-down, and we call for the Government to listen to the people of York and surrounding districts to determine our natural communities, and where people feel connected to, rather than imposing upon us an unnatural fit that is destined to fail.”

Cllr Danny Myers says:
“Labour is listening on devolution, we do not feel that the residents in York and North Yorkshire will feel any connection to a split East/West, that would see Selby and York, thrown in to a new mega-council with Ryedale and Scarborough; our services and needs are different, crucially so are the sectors in our local economy. But we are open to change where that fits in with people’s natural sense of place and locality.

“York is being dragged into this, and without a Chief Executive and with weak political leadership provided by a Lib Dem Green Coalition who have a majority of just one, we are likely to be seen as an easy target. Labour will stand up for the views of our residents, communities and those beyond our current City of York Council borders to establish a common route forward that isn’t directed and composed in Whitehall.”