Levelling up: East Yorkshire councils reject elected mayor devolution deal

The two councils said they wanted to collaborate on a "county deal" without an elected mayor

Plans for an East Yorkshire elected mayor have been rejected by the leaders of the county's two local authorities.

The area was named as one of nine to be offered the chance of a devolution deal as part of the government's levelling up plans announced earlier this week.

It could become a unified area run by a mayor with more powers and funding.

However, both East Yorkshire and Hull's councils have said they instead wanted a combined authority chaired by one of the council bosses on a rotating basis.

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The leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Conservative councillor Jonathan Owen, and Hull City Council's Labour leader, Councillor Daren Hale, said they welcomed the government's announcement and would begin negotiations on a "county deal".

But Councillor Hale said both authorities were against a mayoral deal because the region was "too small" and they were instead seeking an agreement where the two councils "don't merge but they come together and work around specific areas of common interest".

He said it would be "very unusual" to have a mayor overseeing just two local authorities.

"When you start looking at Manchester, there's a huge number of authorities. West Yorkshire is the same. It would be just two very different authorities," Councillor Hale said.

"We think the combined authority model would be much better for this area."

'Growth opportunities'

The policy, announced on Wednesday by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, aimed to improve health, education, employment, housing and transport across the country.

At the heart of the strategy was a plan to create more regional mayors, like Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire and Dan Jarvis in South Yorkshire.

Every part of England would have access to "London-style" powers and a mayor if they wanted it, with the expectation they would be able to target spending more effectively.

Councillor Owen said a devolution deal "could enable us to realise significant benefits for our residents, our businesses and our wider economy".

"Key themes and priorities have been identified to enable growth opportunities and benefits to a larger geographic area," he said.

"We look forward to working alongside the government and our neighbouring authority to support future investment opportunities in East Yorkshire."