LONG-AWAITED plans for an elected mayor for Yorkshire have moved a step closer after the Government said it wouldn't stand in the way of a region-wide devolution deal.

Leaders at 18 of Yorkshire's 20 councils, including Bradford, will meet next week to discuss detailed proposals for a devolution deal which they hope could be in place in just two years' time.

The coalition of councils, dubbed One Yorkshire, formed last year in an attempt to break Yorkshire's devolution deadlock.

On Tuesday, they presented their case to Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid at a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire in Westminster.

Leaders welcomed Mr Javid making clear that the Government wouldn’t stand in the way of any One Yorkshire proposal taking effect in 2020 that had widespread support.

Until now, minsters had been reluctant to see South Yorkshire authorities jeopardise a separate deal for Sheffield by joining the rival Yorkshire-wide deal – a clash that sparked a public vote in Barnsley and Doncaster.

The Local Government Secretary said he now wanted to concrete proposals for the One Yorkshire deal, with council leaders saying these could be handed to the Government shortly.

Elected mayors wielding new powers are already in place in a number of city regions across the UK, including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands.