With Cornish people now officially recognised as national minority group , could Tykes try the same? A new political party, Yorkshire First, aims to speak up for God's Own County and fight for the region to have a devolved parliament. Hatty Collier reports

A new single issue political party promising to fight for Yorkshire will contest next month's European elections, despite its founder not living in the UK.

Yorkshire First has been set up by business adviser Richard Carter, who is currently living in Oslo and working in Germany. He says the party will lobby for the region to have a devolved parliament and will present the European elections as Yorkshire's chance to have a referendum similar to the Scottish Independence vote.

Carter, who is originally from Holmfirth, said he launched “the party for Yorkshire” after feeling frustrated that key decisions on the region's future lie in the hands of central government.



"Yorkshire is trying to fight with its hands behind its back. We need to have the powers to act and fix the issues that we have got in the region," he said.

“We have a larger population than Scotland and an economy larger than Wales, but we don’t have the same powers of either of them. Our party believes in a conversation for Yorkshire and that local politicians and organisations should agree to some kind of governing solution.

"We are interested in taking powers from Westminster and pooling them at a local level. At the moment, there is no unified voice for the region."

Carter will stand as a Yorkshire First candidate in the European elections but will not be taking the lead, saying he did not feel it was right to pose as the front runner while he was not living in the UK. It's not yet clear how many candidates the party is going to field on 22 May.

The new party was welcomed by Mebyon Kernow (MK), a regionalist and devolutionist party in Cornwall. Stephen Richardson, MK's public services spokesman, said: "I welcome Yorkshire First entering the electoral fray. As far as I am concerned we need more serious political parties which are not Westminster based and which have active members and candidates who are passionate about their principles rather than their careers. It is about having real democratic alternatives."

He added: "As I don't live in Yorkshire it is hard to comment on what the electorate there are thinking. However, there is definitely a very anti-establishment, anti-Westminster feeling at the moment within the UK and if Yorkshire First can tailor their message to present a positive vision for Yorkshire and are able to communicate such a message then they could do very well."

Linda McAvan, a Labour MEP for Yorkshire and Humber questioned the new party's raison d'être, given that the European parliament has no remit on national devolution.

She said: “I wonder why you would put up candidates in a European election for a campaign which is about a national issue: the EU has no say on devolution for the UK, it is a matter for Westminster, so it's odd to try to send people to the European Parliament to lobby for something which has to be delivered by the UK government.”

McAvan was first elected as an MEP in 1998 and since 2009 has been the sole Labour representative for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Describing itself as a party of the "pragmatic centre", Yorkshire First believes that candidates in the European elections should put the needs of their region first, rather than the views of their political party.

Carter added: "The European elections are the one and only time that the people of Yorkshire can vote as a region. We are representing the middle ground, the everyday people.

"A result for us would be all the other national parties taking the issue of devolution seriously."

The party describes itself as neutral and says its members are expected to operate according to the "Bell Principles", a code of conduct for elected representatives formulated by ex-independent MP and former BBC correspondent Martin Bell.

The principles are endorsed by the Independent Network, which gives support to candidates who are not members of political parties.

Yorkshire First's entry into politics was welcomed by Godfrey Bloom, now sitting as an Independent MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber after falling out with the UK Independence Party (Ukip) last year.

He said: “I wish Yorkshire First well but will be supporting my long term friend and colleague Jane Collins who is standing in the UKIP interest.”



A registered party wishing to contest the European elections has to submit a deposit of £5,000 and submit a completed set of nomination papers to the Electoral Commission by the 24 April.

Yorkshire First registered with the Electoral Commission on 3 April but has not yet confirmed its list of candidates for the European elections.

Voting in the European elections will take place on 22 May, the same day that local elections are held in council areas across the UK.



There are 22 councils across Yorkshire and Humber, of which 13 will hold local council elections in May.

MEPs are elected on a regional basis with six seats up for grabs in the region. The election results are expected to be announced on Sunday 25 May.