The archbishop of York has called on the government to reach a compromise with local authorities to break a long-running stalemate over devolution in Yorkshire.

John Sentamu, the Church of England’s second most senior cleric, has written to the northern powerhouse minister, Jake Berry, setting out proposals for a devolution deal for the whole county to be reached in stages over two years. He writes that an “all-Yorkshire mayoral region would be the best in the long run”.

Local authorities have been divided over the best way forward for devolution, but on Yorkshire Day on 1 August the leaders of 17 out of 20 of them met to back proposals for a “One Yorkshire” deal.

The deal would establish a single authority for the whole county of more than 5 million people, similar to those in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city region. Sheffield, Rotherham and Wakefield city councils declined to back the plans, and Harrogate and Ryedale have since withdrawn their support.

The government has insisted it will not consider a Yorkshire-wide deal that involves any of the South Yorkshire councils already signed up to the Sheffield city region deal, which was first agreed in October 2015.

It plans to push ahead with elections for a metro mayor for the Sheffield city region next May, even though the leaders of Barnsley and Doncaster councils have expressed their support for the One Yorkshire deal. The two councils are carrying out a community poll, the results of which will be announced on 21 December, asking residents whether they back the Sheffield or the Yorkshire arrangement.



In his letter, first seen by the Yorkshire Post, Sentamu said “urgent steps should be taken now to draw up plans by the end of January 2018 for an All Yorkshire Devolution Deal to take effect with the election of a mayor for the whole of Yorkshire in May 2020”.

In an effort to strike a compromise with the government, he argued that the Sheffield city arrangement could be an “excellent first and interim step” towards a devolved authority for the whole region.



If a staged approach were agreed, all local authorities in the Sheffield city region deal would “proceed without delay with the devolution deal for South Yorkshire taking effect in May 2018,” he said.

“I ask therefore whether discussions might begin, as soon as possible, around this compromise proposal, with a view to securing long-term benefit to Yorkshire and its people.”

The One Yorkshire plan, which was put forward by politicians in Leeds, would be headed by a directly elected mayor and would oversee transport, economic development and skills. The plan has received cross-party support and backing from the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors and the TUC.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said the government had no intention of undoing the Sheffield city arrangement, which it said had already been partly implemented and would bring around £1bn of new government investment to the area.

“We would welcome discussions with the other Yorkshire councils if they were to come forward with a widely supported greater Yorkshire devolution deal for rest of the county, providing this does not unravel the Sheffield city region deal,” he said.