A new report by the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) provides a unique study of how devolution has affected relationships between Strategic Authorities (SAs) and Local Authorities (LAs) across Yorkshire and the Humber during a period of considerable political and policy change. Working in partnership with Yorkshire and Humber Councils, Y-PERN researchers undertook a series of interviews with political leaders, chief executives and senior officers in 2024 and 2025 to assess their views and reflections on the evolution of devolution across the region.
As with the rest of England, devolution across Yorkshire and the Humber has proven incremental, bespoke and often incoherent in its evolution over 25 years, shaped more by power, politics and financial incentives than a clear and consistent strategic vision. That said, Yorkshire and the Humber now have four Strategic Authorities (South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire, and Hull & East Yorkshire), completing the regional devolution map.
The report indicates that prolonged uncertainties and emergent asymmetries in the organisation, scale, capacity and coordination of devolution across the region have given rise to two dominant attitudes among political and policy leaders. A ‘devo-pragmatism’ underpins a broadly shared willingness to make devolution work, with extensive evidence that trust built through collaborative deal-making has shaped a collective desire to get on with delivering for communities and citizens.
At the same time, some interviewees expressed what we have called ‘devo-anxiety’. This is an indication of growing concerns, particularly among local authorities about the overall direction of devolution, with powers seen to be drifting upwards to Strategic Authorities. Frustrations were also expressed at the pace of change in devolution policy, with funding and capacity challenges frequently cited alongside concerns that local authorities risk being sidelined in discussions about future devolution, despite being the primary public service deliverers.
There was, however, broad support for regional-scale collaboration across Yorkshire and the Humber, without the need for a formal regional institution such as a ‘Yorkshire Parliament’. Interviews also surfaced concerns about the absence of a sufficiently clear and resonant collective regional voice to lobby Westminster and Whitehall for more powers and funding. Interviewees urged the UK Government to provide greater strategic clarity about devolution to support its future development across the region.
The report concludes with four recommendations: to further strengthen existing regional networks and partnerships to support policy innovation and delivery; to strengthen a collective regional voice to promote regional interests in Westminster and Whitehall; for local and strategic authorities to collaborate more closely on region-wide frameworks for policy evaluation, learning, and transfer; and for local and strategic authorities to work closely with universities to create evidence-informed approaches to devolution.
Dr Andy Mycock, Y-PERN’s Chief Policy Fellow based at the University of Leeds and co-author of the report, notes that the report:
“provides unique insights into the growing pains and positive impacts of devolution across Yorkshire and the Humber that will be of interest across Westminster, Whitehall, and strategic and local authorities across England.” He adds that, “as the UK Government’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill progresses through Parliament, the research indicates that both ‘devo-pragmatism’ and ‘devo-anxiety’ are strongly shaping attitudes to future devolution across the region.”
