The election of Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader means that for the first time ever, the prime minister will represent a Yorkshire constituency. 

However, despite 12 years of Conservative governments claiming to believe in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and ‘Levelling Up’, Yorkshire remains an underfunded and under-powered region.  Infrastructure projects are cut, investment is not received, and spending goes elsewhere. 

Sunak himself was caught out last summer admitting to taking money out of deprived urban areas and funnelling it to areas that need it less. Though we shouldn’t ignore that deprived areas don’t just exist in inner cities, Bridlington South is one of the county's poorest wards, represented by three Yorkshire Party Councillors who have striven to improve the health and economic standards of the area.

Yorkshire needs not merely a change of prime minister but a change in thinking: secure and fair funding, and control over how to spend that money, through a Regional Parliament.