A WHARFEDALE MP is calling for a cross-party meeting to discuss establishing a Yorkshire Mayor - and Parliament.

Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem, Leeds North West) says Yorkshire should be given devolution with powers similar to those enjoyed by the London Assembly or Scotland.

The MP has also long been a supporter of having a single Yorkshire mayor to maximise the power of the region and help bring its local authorities together 'to deliver major infrastructure projects'.

And he believes creating a Yorkshire Mayor is a real possibility again following the High Court decision to stop the establishment of an elected Mayor for the Sheffield City Region.

He said: "It is time Yorkshire’s politicians and councils got behind a single Yorkshire Mayor, who would be a powerful champion for the region and also better placed than Whitehall civil servants for deciding how best to promote and develop the region.

"I hope more and more MPs and councillors will get behind this and that councils all over Yorkshire will accept that people would prefer this rather than having several, faceless mayors for artificially constructed regions.

"We should also start to challenge the Government over their over prescriptive Mayoral model and call for real devolution, which means having a Yorkshire Parliament or Assembly with real powers as well."

He added: "I hope ministers will realise that Yorkshire is the real entity, a real northern powerhouse that can and should be allowed to thrive - and that carving it up in 1972 was a mistake.

"Let's go back to Yorkshire being the county and the region represented by a Mayor and a Parliament, and get rid of the artificial divisions of West, South and North Yorkshire.

"The power of Yorkshire working together would be immense and would deliver for local people and businesses, and be much more accountable to them. "