West Yorkshire finally secures ‘very generous’ devolution deal

West Yorkshire has finally secured its devolution deal after more than five years of debate, delay and disappointment, TheBusinessDesk.com can confirm.

New Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to reveal later today that agreement has been reached when he becomes the first Yorkshire MP to deliver a Budget in five decades.

It will mean Leeds and Bradford will soon join Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Birmingham in being led by an elected mayor.

Sources told TheBusinessDesk.com a deal in excess of £900m has been agreed, although the final details of the funding envelope were still being worked out.

Communities minister and former Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke MP has been part of the Governent’s negotiating team

But it has been described as “very generous” and comparable with Greater Manchester’s settlement.

And it could be the first of three devolution deals for Yorkshire that are agreed this year. Progress is being made on a York and North Yorkshire deal, while there is a meeting in Westminster today between MPs, council leaders and Government as a Humber deal also moves forward.

The agreement marks the end of a difficult period for West Yorkshire’s leaders, with the perception that the region was being left behind Greater Manchester and the West Midlands – even if the lack of an elected mayor did not prevent it winning the high-profile competition to attract Channel 4 ahead of its rivals.

But it was the imminent end of the £1bn, six-year Growth Deal, combined with a pragmatic willingness on both sides to get a deal finally agreed, that has got the devolution agreement over the finish line.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe

The new mayor will be chosen by the voters of the five districts of West Yorkshire – Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield – with the election likely to be in 2022.

Before then an interim mayor will take on some of the additional responsibilities, with Bradford Council leader and West Yorkshire Combined Authority chair Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe well-placed to fulfil the role.

Last Friday Chancellor Rishi Sunak used a photo of Leeds to illustrate his Budget ambitions:

In 5 days time we will lay the foundations for a decade of growth. #Budget2020 pic.twitter.com/GnspSkA040

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 6, 2020