For a city heavily dependent on North Sea merchant trade (container shipping and lorry freight) and ferries, that had recently secured major investment from Siemens to construct wind-turbines, Hull’s Leave vote seemed suicidal. I work freelance in historical research and heritage, and moved back to Hull from Glasgow in 2017. My father, a Scot long […]
Hull, like most of the rest of the country, is waiting to see exactly what changes there will be over the next year and beyond. The city has wanted an improvement in its lot for years. While being the City of Culture in 2017 and the arrival of Siemens moved things along, frustration about the […]
Here in Yorkshire, God’s own county, we celebrate Yorkshire Day on 1 August. The origins of this day allegedly go back to the Battle of Minden in Prussia, during the seven years’ war, where the English defeated the French army on 1 August 1759. It was said that the heroism of Yorkshire soldiers, who fought […]
John Grogan and Lord Kirkhope are co-chairs of Together Yorkshire 2020 In September 2015 ahead of a speech in Leeds, Prime Minister David Cameron was asked about devolution. Thinking himself off mike he said, “We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn’t realise they hated each other so much”. Today on Yorkshire Day […]
The order creating Yorkshire’s first devolution deal was finally signed on Monday by Simon Clarke, minister of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, after five years of dispute between the four local authorities of Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. Originally signed in 2015 it collapsed in 2017 when Barnsley and Doncaster signalled […]
Alexander Temerko has been very generous to the Conservative Party, donating a not inconsiderable £1.2m over seven years, after taking British citizenship. In July 2019, a few days before Boris Johnson was elected Tory leader, Reuters carried a special report about his connections to Temerko and the influence Temerko wielded in the leadership campaign. Reuters […]
Sunday 22 July 1972. Reigning Olympic 200m champion Tommie Smith is going through his pre-race stretch routine on a humid afternoon. A thunderstorm, which will later bring the racing to a halt, hangs around like the teenage boys who are hoping for an autograph. But this is not the Munich Olympics, or even a warm-up event. […]
Once Yorkshire had three ridings – then we had four short-lived county councils – now the government offers us four executive mayors. Those who promote the concept of One Yorkshire are going to have to persuade themselves that four mayors is a step in the right direction. In due course perhaps a more sympathetic government […]
Lockdown has pushed some women in our local communities even further into the shadows, as the government fails to account for the unique needs of marginalised women, leaving sex workers, ex-offenders and the female homeless poverty-stricken and highly vulnerable.
It may have been the last day of term for our MPs, but they went out with a bang. Monday night saw Conservative MPs, having whined about wanting to take back control, give most of it straight back to the executive. A Tory backbench attempt to give parliament a definitive say on post-Brexit trade deals […]
The past four months have been a turbulent and strange time for all businesses, as the UK was plunged into full lockdown in March to combat the devastating effects of Covid-19. We’ve seen bailouts, closures, redundancies and more trials and tribulations than our collective workforce had hoped to see in a lifetime. As some workers […]
It is hard to escape the conclusion that the government is asleep on the job – not paying attention and not asking critical questions affecting the safety and security of the UK. This is as much about the Russian report as it is about the very serious issues surrounding the role of the British parliament […]
Like Dorian Grey without a painting in the loft, Laura Potts’ poetry has the insight of twilight. Echoing the lyricism of Dylan Thomas, she has a strong connection to Wales’ best-known poet and worked at the Dylan Thomas Society’s Birthplace Museum in 2016. However, she is Wakefield born and bred and, whilst she has a […]
There’s another puzzle. For many years it seemed almost socially acceptable for older women to have relationships with younger boys, but not the other way round. It’s as though society developed a view that girls should be allowed to mature at their own pace without the sexual advances of an adult, but not so the boys. There is probably some rational, sensible reason for it all, but I don’t understand it.
Intrigued by an invitation to visit Queens Mill in Castleford last year, I was delighted to be taken on a tour of the mill and site. They say that the mill’s history can be traced back to Norman times but there’s a hint that the Romans were grinding flour nearby too. It’s a mammoth task […]
‘Nobody on the dole counts, my friend.’ Alan Bleasdale’s revered 1982 television mini-series Boys from the Blackstuff is brave, bleak and though occasionally boring, is rather brilliant. This 306-minute series is captivating and now, more than ever, highly relevant as the economy falters and Britain again sinks into being the ‘sick man of Europe’. The towering […]
Yorkshire looks set to get more devolution deals next year, according to Simon Clarke, minister for regional growth and local government. This could see the whole of Yorkshire soon having some form of devolution settlement. Speaking at the Northern Powerhouse education, skills and employment summit this week, the minister said, “In the North of England, […]
News that Boris Johnson has proposed moving both Houses of Parliament to York while the Palace of Westminster is refurbished will be met with glee by Yorkshire devolutionists. In a letter seen by The Times the prime minister casts doubt on the £4bn renovation project that was agreed in 2018. Esther Webb, reporter for the […]
Every reasonable person understands that government is harder than opposition and making choices between competing priorities in the middle of a crisis can be challenging. Deciding on whether to prioritise the NHS or care services, how to open up the economy whilst keeping people safe and how to cope with the pressure of rushing through […]
A report published by Tell MAMA, UK Islamophobia Hate Crime Service, and Newcastle University has concluded that the community spirit shown throughout lockdown needs to be retained to improve relations between different groups in the North East. The team surveyed 111 people of various faiths and backgrounds from the region, from October 2019 to February […]
Over the weekend, a list of the top 20 local authorities most at risk of a resurgence of Coronavirus was released, upon which Sheffield ranked 15th, with neighbouring Rotherham and Barnsley also making the list. The data showed that in the seven days from the 28 June to the 4 July, Sheffield reported three community […]
Julian Sturdy, MP for York Outer, has proposed an amendment to the agriculture bill that will deregulate the gene editing of crops and foods. He suggested the amendment in a letter at a late stage of the bill’s progression through parliament, when it was being discussed in the House of Lords – thus bypassing the […]
Lockdown has been difficult. Yorkshire, like everywhere, has been stress-tested. It has challenged us like never before. Yet, one close-knit village near Pontefract has responded by engendering community spirit. Over the past few months, Ackworth has held street parties and bun sales, built a caterpillar trail in the woods and conducted weekly street bingo. In […]
It’s been a funny year in many ways. Locked down, isolated, unable to get out and enjoy the Yorkshire hills. However, all that’s changing and now is the time to get into the spare room, find that map you’re sure you have somewhere, and plan your first trip out. How about starting with one of […]
Here’s a thought. Barry Hines’s novel, A Kestrel for a Knave, wouldn’t exist without the BBC. In particular without the key role of Alfred Bradley, a Leeds-based producer for the BBC North region based in Woodhouse Lane, Leeds from 1959 to 1980. Bradley fostered distinctive Northern talent on The Northern Drift – realists like Alan […]
Co-authored with Dr Kristy Themelis of the WITHIN team at Warwick University. The main priorities of the government and health services are currently aimed at preventing the spread of the virus and protecting our health from Covid-19. Meanwhile, chronic pain is one of the biggest health issues not just in the UK, but around the […]
At 11 years old, I was quite comfortable being naked within the family environment, but when we did PE (physical education), we had to use the communal boys’ showers. Not only was it the first time I had used a shower, it must have been the first time I had even seen a shower. It was also the first time I had seen other boys without clothes.
This weekend’s briefings by the chancellor in relation to Wednesday’s mini-budget were a welcome response to cross-sector demands for employment support. But the proposed support programme could work so much better if accompanied by regional economic strategies designed by metropolitan mayors who are in touch with business leaders and the needs of their local economies, […]
People ask me what I’ve been missing in lockdown and I have to say I mostly miss my family and friends. I also wish I could be out and about doing my baking talks, although it helps that I’m starting to do them via Zoom. Meeting people in community groups has proved a great way […]
“It is a horrible thing to experience someone who treats you differently because of the colour of your skin … The effects of this kind of treatment are magnified when you’re stuck in a workplace environment where you have to endure this treatment from the moment you start your shift to the moment you walk […]