I am intrigued - a timeline that justifies the annoying air of superiority Yorkshiremen tend to have. 
Will there be any football-playing ducks?
Will there be any football-playing ducks?
TLIAD: "Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee?"
- Thread starter Lord Roem
- Start date
For some reason, reading this has got Prefab Sprout songs stuck in my head. This alone would be reason enough for me to love it.
It's excellent so far, and I'm sure it will continue to be so - I like the idea of David Blunkett almost accidentally winding up as a Premier of a Yorkshire Assembly, and the machinations that led to such a body coming about.
One question, which may be answered in due course - do the rest of England have their own Assemblies yet?
It's excellent so far, and I'm sure it will continue to be so - I like the idea of David Blunkett almost accidentally winding up as a Premier of a Yorkshire Assembly, and the machinations that led to such a body coming about.
One question, which may be answered in due course - do the rest of England have their own Assemblies yet?
The hints about who has become PM of the UK suggest other major figures have gone off to lead assemblies, so I think there will be a couple more at least.
Monday 4th August, 2014
School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds
“He’s great you know - really at the top of his field.”
High praise indeed - but then I would expect nothing less from one of Professor Kevin Theakston’s research students. My guide - a young man of a similar age to me, albeit one with a South London accent - is whisking me through the Political Science Department at the University of Leeds, which has recently become the core of Mr Healey’s ‘Knowledge Economy’ that he announced during his speech to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario last month.
There is a knock at the door, and Professor Theakston (a name of impeccable Northern credentials, I muse to myself) bounds to his feet and moves along to shake my hand.
“Delighted to meet you,” he says, “always a pleasure to talk to a ‘real person’ about politics for a change.”
He shares a wink with his PhD student, I get the feeling that I am the butt of an insider joke about Duverger's law.
Professor Theakston is the head of the School here. Whilst his academic interests tend to be more concerned with political history, he has made somewhat of a name for himself as the ‘Yorkshire Guru’ - becoming somewhat of a ‘live-in’ expert for Look North’s election night coverage. He is has a sparkling intelligence however, and I allow my enthusiasm for his recent biography of Randolph Churchill to bubble over. We share a pleasant few minutes in conversation about Winston’s father.
“So,” he continues, as some very welcome coffee appears, “what do you want to know about the Assembly?”
I have to ask him the same question that has puzzled political scientists for the past fourteen years - “why Yorkshire?”
He polishes his glasses as he nonchalantly replies.
“Regional identity” he begins, “when the three referenda were announced back in ‘99, Yorkshire was fundamentally the only one of the mooted areas that really had any sense of mutual heritage. I mean," he says, sweeping his hand over to the wall chart of Great Britain that is unevenly pinned to the wall behind him, “if you look at the North East - the devolution movement there was stymied from day one by a dozen and one issues. Where do we put the Assembly? Why should Durham have it? Mackems profess to loath Geordies - frankly, it is a miracle the second referendum passed last year, even with the proud example that we have entrenched down here. Obviously, the less said about the Cumbria-Lancashire Axis the better.”
He pauses to take a caffeine fix as I finish jotting down his spiel. Dabbing at his mouth, consults his notes.
“That said,” he continues, “referenda campaigns are always difficult to swing for the ‘Yes’ side. People tend to like the status quo and - even when Mo Mowlam took up the campaign in 1999, there certainly wasn’t the clamour for devolution that you had in Scotland, or even in Wales.”
Given that, I ask if the whole issue was more equitable with that which created the London Assembly.
“The parallels are certainly there,” he explains, “although even with that example, you did at least have the legacy of the GLC to fall back on - in Yorkshire, you basically had to go back to the Council of the North and - whilst I would sincerely like them to do so - the average Rotherham voter is not likely to be swayed by arguments pertaining to Edward IV and the Counter-Reformation.”
The point is certainly one that I have to agree with, although the historian in me still feels saddened at the lack of historical pedigree that the ‘Third Council’ has taken up. The new Assembly building is located not at King’s Manor, but the old Odeon in Bradford, and we still elect MYAs in ‘Constituencies’ and ‘Regional Lists’, rather than Wapentakes and Hundreds.
I say as much to Professor Theakston, who laughs heartily.
“I think that you and I should launch a Pressure Group calling for just that,” he says, “it certainly is a shame that the only people who seem to be using the old terms for anything around here are the Socialist-Green Party - and that is only so that they can use ‘Red Riding’ on their election leaflets!”
The resurgence in ‘Traditional Left’ parties has certainly been an unexpected consequence of the Assembly, and probably goes some way towards explaining Blair’s reservation at the idea. The ‘Socialist-Greens’ (who have links with their ‘Red-Green’ allies in Scandinavia increased their hold at the 2012 election, gaining two additional list seats, whilst TUSC entered the Assembly for the first time, aided by the slight Labour collapse in Doncaster. Fortuitously, the Patriotic People’s Party (a BNP splinter) failed to make any inroads at all - despite the hysterics expressed in the The Guardian on the eve of polling.
“What also helps the Assembly is the continuing influence of genuine party politics” Theakston goes on to state, “we’ve had two Lab/Lib Coalitions, a Conservative Minority and a Labour Majority all within four election cycles. Politics is competitive here, which really reduces the risk of institutional stagnation that you see in Northern Ireland, or in de facto one-party polities such as Alberta.”
The clock chimes the quarter-hour, I recall that Professor Theakston has a lecture to give. I therefore ask my final question, regarding the future of devolution to England.
“The Scottish Referendum was the real wake-up call,” he replies, “and whilst I believe that Ken Macintosh was correct to call the SNPs bluff on the issue two years ago, the wounds caused by the narrowness of the ‘No’ victory will take a while to heal. What it has done - however - is make the concept of England Federalisation far more likely. The North East is settled now, and the Midlands should follow suit next year, especially if Dr Fox wishes to keep his backbenchers happy.”
I mention that I would also like to see this, although we both insist that calling it a ‘Mercian Witan’ is probably too far beyond the pale.
We leave the office together and I am waved off from the reception hall. I have an appointment at the Assembly to go to the following morning, but I am grateful to still have an evening in Leeds to myself. Opera North have reached the finale of their four-year long production of the Ring Cycle, and I am pleased that the Town Hall’s long restoration period has made it possible to watch productions there once more. There was more than a little controversy when the City Hall was refurbished to hold the Assembly on a temporary basis back in 2000, but since they decamped down the road, the new concert hall has been re-established as one of the best in Northern Europe.
As I collect my tickets for Gotterdammerung later than evening, I notice the "rose-en-soleil" flapping proudly next to the Union Flag in Victoria Square. St George’s Cross - obviously - is nowhere to be seen. I begin to conclude that we are entering the twilight of England.
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I heard an Inception 'bwaaaahm' as I read the last line.
Very, very, good. I wish we could have learned more about this South London-accented PhD student, though. He sounds devilishly handsome and really clever.
So the Assembly hasn't been a Labour-dominated operation. Interesting. I had expected something like Liverpool's Mayoralty OTL, but I suppose Yorkshire is a lot bigger than the red bits.
A couple of typos, if I may: you talk about the legacy of the GLA, when I presume you mean the GLC, and there's a missing speech mark here:
Presumably it should go after 'I mean,'.
This is really excellent, Jack. Really, really good stuff. The diversification of the Yorkshire left was particularly interesting to read, and the use of a former Odeon in Bradford as the Assembly is So Yorkshire It Hurts.
Can't wait for more, I wonder if you'll drop in on Westminster towards the end?
Very, very, good. I wish we could have learned more about this South London-accented PhD student, though. He sounds devilishly handsome and really clever.
So the Assembly hasn't been a Labour-dominated operation. Interesting. I had expected something like Liverpool's Mayoralty OTL, but I suppose Yorkshire is a lot bigger than the red bits.
A couple of typos, if I may: you talk about the legacy of the GLA, when I presume you mean the GLC, and there's a missing speech mark here:
Presumably it should go after 'I mean,'.
This is really excellent, Jack. Really, really good stuff. The diversification of the Yorkshire left was particularly interesting to read, and the use of a former Odeon in Bradford as the Assembly is So Yorkshire It Hurts.
Can't wait for more, I wonder if you'll drop in on Westminster towards the end?
I'm curious as to the reason why the assembly is based in Bradford instead of York - granted ah can't tell thee much about Yorkshire, but it seems only natural that they place it in the city that is both somewhat in between the urban and rural regions of the county and has served as county town for a number of centuries.
Devvy
Donor
Dittoing this; the "Yorkshire Capital" in Bradford!? Although with a devolved white rose administration, I guess they may have managed to brighten up Leeds' poorer sibling a bit.
Also, I'm guessing the show in the first chapter is the Great Yorkshire Show (hence the Sec being centre-stage) - I thought it had been in Harrogate since the 1950s?
PS: Enjoying seeing the homeland prominent once more.
Brilliant. This Dr Theakston reminds me of Alan Sked in his British constitutional nerdery.
The 'Lancashire-Cumbria Axis' sounds ominous, though. Like putting occupational forces on the Settle & Carlisle line.
The 'Lancashire-Cumbria Axis' sounds ominous, though. Like putting occupational forces on the Settle & Carlisle line.
My intention is to do a 'Run Down' of the political parties of the Yorkshire Assembly in the next update.
However - you are quite correct with the 'Socialist-Greens', you did get a far-left resurgence in Scotland in the 2003-2007 Parliament. It didn't seem impossible that something similar would happen here.
Many thanks - it would be very unfair on the other readers to explicitly mention that you are the devilishly handsome and very clever PhD student, I would have thought that you would know me better than that, Tom.
As mentioned, I shall be giving a run-down of the composition of the Parliament - rather like Wales, it is a Labour-leaning sort of place, but certainly not somewhere where the Reds can expect a permanent majority, or even to be the largest party - the Richmond Mafia have deep roots, after all!
Typos noticed and will be corrected when I finish the final update - it is obviously one of the downsides of doing a TLIAD that you don't really seem to pay as much attention as you really should!
Again - I shall be going into this in the next update - although York is not really the sort of place that I think is especially suited to hosting government institutions for an area with a larger population than Scotland. There were aborted plans ITTL to reuse the King's Manor - but they fell apart owing to the listed nature of the place, as well as opposition from the University of York, which in both OTL and ITTL, is hope to the University's Archaeology Department.
The Great Yorkshire Show is indeed based at Harrogate, but this is actually intended to be an alt-version of 'Yorkshire Day' (which is today mainly an excuse for various council leaders to have a bit of jolly), but in both OTL and ITTL - it is held in a different market town every year. The Penistone Show, incidentally, is the largest one-day agricultural event of its type in the North.
Hehe - I should really do a bombastic US-style mock-up of the new Look North titles...
Devvy
Donor
Might have an Assembly but it's still riddled with Pacers
Hah - you never know. Scotland has done wonders with electrification, and you could see the same thing around Yorkshire. Somewhere I have the sketches of a reasonable and justifiable Leeds-centred Metro system from a few years back.
Nah, just keep the titles just like in OTL, but news headlines can be mocked up for this TL.
(Although it was admittedly too late to set up a dedicated regional channel for Yorkshire)
Thande
Donor
Look North's election night coverage must be something to see: "And we again go to the count at Leeds North West and it appears that they will not declare until 4 am, oh well, I understand that the Conservatives have gained Sheffield and Hull has been invaded by Sweden and some other unimportant things, but never mind that, let's look at them counting votes in Leeds, the centre of the universe, for another hour..."
I like the point that there was a Conservative minority government at some point (presumably around 2008-9-ish or whenever the election was): people forget that Yorkshire is more divided than they think and under the right circumstances the Tories can top the polls (see 2009 euro-election). Lab-Lib seems to be the default as in Scotland though, but I can imagine it caused problems in places like Sheffield where the two parties are used to being arch-enemies.
I can't really see the English flag not being there though - the English identity being undermined, maybe, but football will ensure the cross of St George is always a popular symbol to use. I will accept the suspension of disbelief for the overall point being made though.
I like the point that there was a Conservative minority government at some point (presumably around 2008-9-ish or whenever the election was): people forget that Yorkshire is more divided than they think and under the right circumstances the Tories can top the polls (see 2009 euro-election). Lab-Lib seems to be the default as in Scotland though, but I can imagine it caused problems in places like Sheffield where the two parties are used to being arch-enemies.
I can't really see the English flag not being there though - the English identity being undermined, maybe, but football will ensure the cross of St George is always a popular symbol to use. I will accept the suspension of disbelief for the overall point being made though.
Hah - you never know. Scotland has done wonders with electrification, and you could see the same thing around Yorkshire. Somewhere I have the sketches of a reasonable and justifiable Leeds-centred Metro system from a few years back.
There was a mention of the dreaded things in, AFAIK, the first post.