IT WAS probably inevitable on the back of the Scottish referendum that a debate would swiftly follow about devolution for Yorkshire.

There is no doubt that more funding needs to be allocated to the North along with more power over how money is spent. However, the apparent desire for the self-appointed combined authority for Yorkshire to create a new regional government is unlikely to win support from most voters.

It is only a few years since the electorate roundly rejected plans for a regional assembly in the North East as proposed by John Prescott. It was highly likely that they would have done the same in Yorkshire had the plan not been scrapped.

The problem with regional government is not just the extra costs it would generate but the fact that those with the largest representation in terms of population, in other words Leeds, would shout the loudest and get the largest share of funding to the detriment of all other areas.

On the other hand, a city with more down-to-earth problems, such as poverty and poor health, would find it far harder to attract badly-needed funding for projects less glamorous than, say, a tram service.

It would only be a matter of time before Bradford was making the same sort of complaints about regional government as Yorkshire currently makes about the national variety. Of course, Bradford needs to maximise co-operation with other areas but it must also fight to maintain its profile and the efficacy of its local democracy.

To borrow from William Hague, we need to be “in the Leeds City Region, not run by it.”