Yorkshire mayor is needed for long to-do list

THE Yorkshire Post has joined with a number of individuals giving voice to what, in their opinion, should happen to achieve the “Northern Powerhouse”. Once again we hear the voices saying what must be done – and once again we will see no action. In all probability the involved politicians will fade back into the shadows because their party politics come first. What is needed is a supremo – a Yorkshire mayor – who is strong enough to unite all our representatives under one banner regardless of political persuasion. Maybe there is a Lancastrian who has a similar motive. When that objective has been achieved, then the work can start in earnest, the only problem being how to prioritise the plans. What comes first? There are differing opinions in that area as to which idea will beg the next and so on. Investment into the infrastructure is of primary importance. Most of that will have to come from the Government so a concerted effort at unity is a must if any attempt at securing funding is to succeed. Successive directives from the EU have decimated our manufacturing base and the need to secure investment so that industry can once again rise is imperative. Transport needs a significant overhaul to provide a better degree of integration in order to improve the balance between private and public forms. If those two factors can be achieved, then they should get the construction of more houses, the planning of which should take into account transport requirements. The priority has to be investment in the North. From: Doug Brown, Silkstone Common, Barnsley. I REFER to the letter from Mr A Oldfield (The Yorkshire Post, June 11) concerning the Woodhead/Don Valley rail route. Although I agree with his letter, I would like to point out a couple of problems. Firstly, the National Grid have routed its high tension cables through the new tunnel so that trains will not be able to access it. Secondly, there is a proposal to dismantle the overhead pylons on the eastern end of the tunnel and bury the cables in concrete troughs, which means that the entire width of the track bed will be taken up from the tunnel end to Wogden Foot. A local nature reserve at Wogden Foot will be destroyed by erecting a switch gear building and a stop end pylon. National joke not so funny From: AW Clarke, Martin Close, Louth. PLEASE can one of your dear readers explain to me why Boris Johnson is the favourite to become our next Prime Minister? Apart from contributing to the gaiety of the nation and the the fact than he can, evidently, grasp the finer points of Latin, and probably other ancient languages, what has he done apart from making a complete joke of the post of Foreign Secretary? I am absolutely sure that if the Tory party install him in the post we shall, in very short order, become the laughing stock of both Europe and the rest of the world. He is a bumbling fool who has never shown any evidence that he is capable of being taken seriously. From: ME Wright, Harrogate. I SHARE Andrew Vine’s concern over the method of choosing the new PM (The Yorkshire Post, June 11). The fate of the country and the Conservative party will ultimately be determined by a tiny, comfortable demographic, in which the 60-somethings are the adolescents. From: Barry Foster, High Stakesby, Whitby. IT really is quite pathetic to have to read and hear about our politicians and their adventures into the “drug world”. What we really do need is the best person for the job of the Prime Minister. Restore some faith in our leaders and bring the country together again. Otherwise we may have Jeremy Corbyn and that would be a disaster. From: Brian H Sheridan, Lodge Moor, Sheffield. I AGREE with Christa Ackroyd and letter-writer Geoff Ogden MBE (The Yorkshire Post, June 12) that Michael Gove’s admission to use of an illegal drug in the past should not be dismissed lightly. In my view the Conservative leadership contender is diminished by the revelation. This is not a down-and-out with an apology for a life but a privileged individual by any standards. There is a sanguine attitude towards recreational drugs among people who should know better which suggests they regard the experience almost as a badge of honour. As your correspondents argue: the damage and suffering caused by drugs worldwide cannot be overstated. Ignoring the signs From: John G Davies, Alma Terrace, East Morton, Keighley. WHY does climbing into a car stop so many people from reading signs? The other afternoon, Yorkshire Water closed part of Micklethwaite Lane, signposting a diversion. The sign had been blown down, so I assumed that was why motorists were continuing up to the works. As I re-erected the Road Closed, Diversion sign, several motorists ignored my indications. After I had set the sign up again, I watched five motorists drive straight past it, then return a couple of minutes later. Only one turned off to take the signed deviation. On another occasion, a police car followed a flock of returning motorists, stopping to get out and examine the sign. I asked the officer “What’s wrong?” “Just checking that it isn’t written in Swahili or something” was the officer’s reply. It might as well have been written in some strange symbols for all the effect that it had.

Yorkshire mayor is needed for long to-do list - Yorkshire Post letters