Now that Brexit is all but done and Boris Johnson has the biggest parliamentary majority since the days of Margaret Thatcher, along comes a new schism to occupy northern Tory backbenchers – the North-South divide. On 26 October, Prime Minister Johnson came under considerable pressure from his own side in the form of a letter, […]
In less than a week, the government’s Job Retention Scheme will end, putting as many as five million people’s jobs at risk, according to Sheffield’s Festival of Debate organisers. The Cliff Edges and Safety Nets online debate, organised for 29 October, will bring together Citizens Advice Sheffield and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to discuss the […]
In the café of a Harrogate garden centre, one of the items on the menu in August 2020 was grouse in a bun, priced at £12.50, the birds probably acquired from a shoot on the upland moors of a Yorkshire estate. The ‘Glorious Twelfth’ and subsequent August days will have seen plenty of action, as […]
True stories from ‘Norky’ who comes from Scapegoat Hill, a small, isolated farming village, high on the Pennines in West Yorkshire. After the Norman invasion of 1066, there was an immediate and obvious separation of society into a two-tier structure: the ruling class who spoke French and the rest. Then, as the ruling class from […]
Is this the most unexpected and improbable fairytale football story of the century? Harrogate Town FC! 2010: on the last day of the Conference North season Harrogate Town FC were bottom – due to be relegated but saved because of the financial problems of others. 2011: on last day of the Conference North season Harrogate […]
You Ask Me Where I Want to Live, My Love… by Steve Pottinger it can be the tundra, a desert, a forest, a boat high on a mountain or out on the coast an apartment, a terrace, a van or a castle, a tent, yurt, or igloo, it really don’t matter but it must be […]
Tiers for fears This week was marked by an escalation in coronavirus measures as South Yorkshire was put into Tier 3, starting from Saturday. As cases rise across the region, York public health director Sharon Stolz had to deny that any move to Tier 3 was imminent in the city, and talks continue between West […]
Back to Ours is releasing a hard-hitting four-part series of documentary films by two black musical artists from Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire. The first episode is shared as part of Black History Month 2020. Written, directed and presented by Bacary Mundoba, lead singer with Afro-codhead-skank crossover band Bud Sugar, and Chiedu Oraka, grime-influenced rapper and MC with […]
Choirs and covid don’t mix. Before it was really a thing, we decided to halt rehearsals (for a short while we thought) until things became clearer. But droplets versus aerosols, social distancing, meeting in public areas and the rule of six soon made choral singing a thing of the past. A community choir of over […]
Today it was announced that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is due to update the Job Support Scheme, which replaces furlough in November. This will give support to Tier 2 businesses that have seen demand collapse without being formally required to shut. But as Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy […]
It’s time to take back control, before it’s too late. The sense that something is being done to us, not by us and not even for us, and the anger that this imposition evokes, is palpable today in South Yorkshire. As George Monbiot said in the Guardian, “if you are not incandescent with rage, you […]
Over the last two weeks, we have seen nothing short of heroic efforts from northern metro mayors in the fight against an unfair deal for northern citizens as Tier 3 lockdown begins to be imposed across the North. The mayoral roles, which up until now have not provided any significant kick back to central government, […]
‘Billy’ was something of a school treasure, but when I was in his history class in the fifties, he was well past his best. He had gone straight from his school’s sixth form in Bradford to serve on the Western Front and was badly gassed: an experience that left him with a permanent, persistent cough. […]
Correction: The initial version of this article stated that Imran Ahmad Khan MP attended a party with Wakefield AFC on Saturday night. Mr Ahmad Khan has clarified to the Wakefield Express that it was an “initiation – not a party – and they sang some songs”. He has yet to explain why the Tier 2 […]
It used to be a Mexican standoff but now its nearer to home – in Manchester. Leaders in Greater Manchester, including Mayor Andy Burnham, have rejected a move to England’s tier 3 alert level (very high). At the heart of their resistance are demands for better financial support from central government. And as ever, it […]
A local campaign group, Sheffield for Europe, has complained that Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, is refusing to engage with her constituents, and not responding to their queries and concerns. Mary Seneviratne, chair of Sheffield for Europe, said: “An MP is elected to represent all their constituents, and should be available to meet […]
Today, Liberal Democrats from across the North of England, including four council leaders, Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, and Liberal Democrat Leader in the Lords Dick Newby, have written to the prime minister stating that the North has been “overlooked by a London-centric government”. The letter calls for a raft of measures to be implemented urgently to […]
Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why Yorkshire Parkin should ever be forgot! When the trees are ablaze with fiery reds and golds, that’s the signal to bake Yorkshire Parkin. If you don’t know about this delectable treat, it’s a type of gingerbread, traditionally made with oats […]
Reproductive rights have long been settled in Britain. Some 86 percent of the population believe that a woman should have a right to an abortion, and only 24 percent are in favour of making the time limit to decide to terminate a pregnancy shorter. Yet recently this has been under attack in the city of […]
Here’s a roundup of some of the top stories from Yorkshire this week. Covid catch-up The news that dominated the region this week was, of course, the pandemic. Tier 2 restrictions were implemented in South and West Yorkshire from Wednesday, and extended to York from Saturday. The news was unsurprising to many, with significant outbreaks […]
Hugh Goulbourne is seeking nomination to be the Labour Party’s candidate for the West Yorkshire mayoral election. West Yorkshire cannot wait for Westminster any longer; our mayor must do things differently! As the government dithers and delays further on plans to extend HS2 to Leeds, it is critical that leaders in Yorkshire are not distracted […]
East Riding Council decided last week on a novel approach to communicate their 3 Steps to Safety message. In a climate where covid confusion reigns every time Mr Cummings goes for a spin in his Range Rover, they decided to use local sand artist James Brunt to get their message across. As you can see, James […]
Today Yorkshire Bylines celebrates two huge milestones. It is six months to the day since we launched the first edition of our online newspaper, and within the next few hours, we will have reached 1.5 million views! We know that a free press, along with good quality journalism, is fundamental to any functioning democracy. In […]
We may be in the clutches of the worst public health crisis for generations, but there was something very British in the way that the public took to Twitter as Boris Johnson was making his statement on the latest restrictions. As the North was going into collective meltdown, and northern politicians of all persuasions were […]
As we head for a second lockdown here in Yorkshire it’s hard not to reflect on the abysmal decision by the government to brief details of the lockdown to national newspapers before putting the measures to local leaders, or even members of parliament. Just when the government needs the North most, Boris Johnson appears to […]
On 1 October, the UK2070 Commission published its latest report, ‘Go Big Go Local; a new deal for levelling up the UK’. We can compare the ambitions of this report with the speech of the prime minister at the virtual Conservative Party conference and whether the government shares to any extent at all the idea […]
James sits on my doorstep and has a cuppa and a chat when he delivers my supplies from Blacker Hall Farm. He’s good company as we talk through how the increased trade is affecting his work life and the farm shop. He reminds me that the vast majority of their vegetables, fruit, dairy and meat […]
With fewer than 90 days to go before we complete the transition period and leave the EU completely, the government has finally published its Border Operating Model to explain how the borders will work for freight after Brexit. The 138-page densely packed document details the paperwork and formalities that will be required due to Brexit. […]
Ingleborough Hall at Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales was the family home of Reginald Farrer (1880–1920). Here he created the Craven Nursery, to which he sent back alpine plants from his expeditions in the mountains of Europe and Asia. At the age of 14, he had already published a note in the Journal of Botany […]
Is Banksy working in the Wakefield area? A series of clues and new street art has fuelled speculation that the legendary graffiti artist may be at work in our area. First, a local artist, Rachel Till was forced to tweet that some Pontefract street art depicting themes around the NHS and Coronavirus was definitely hers […]