Despite having 11 MPs in parliament, the people of Yorkshire favoured greater independence over CUK’s ‘new politics’
Change UK suffered humiliation at the European elections in Yorkshire and Humber after they finished behind the regional Yorkshire Party, which supports the county getting its own parliament and devolved powers.
Despite the Yorkshire federalist party having just seven local councillors, compared to Change UK’s 11 members of parliament – including political heavyweights such as Chuka Umunna and Heidi Allen – it received 50,842 votes compared to CUK’s 30,162.
The Yorkshire Party’s policies stop short of calling for wholesale independence from the UK, but include the creation of an assembly for Yorkshire with “meaningful powers to impact proactively on people’s lives in Yorkshire”, improving the “wellness and prosperity” of Yorkshire by “managing the governance of the county”, and “respecting the will” of the Yorkshire people.
A total of 1,289,277 of the population voted in the Yorkshire and Humber region, with a turnout of 33.5%. The Brexit Party took 36% of the vote share in the region, while Labour polled in second place with 16% share, with Lib Dems taking 15% of the votes and the Greens getting 13%. The Conservatives and UKIP finished fifth and sixth, with 7.20% and 4.35% respectively.
Six MEPs were elected in Yorkshire and Humber in total, with three seats going to the Brexit Party, and one each to the Lib Dems, Labour and the Greens. The Green seat went to former Sheffield mayor Magid Magid who previously banned Donald Trump from the city.
The Yorkshire Party is affiliated with the European Free Alliance (EFA) that consists of various regionalist political parties in the EU. While separatism remains a niche issue in the county, it is estimated that the historic Yorkshire region has a population of almost 5.4 million, greater than that of Scotland and Wales, each of which have their own parliaments and devolved powers.
It’s not just in politics that Yorkshire folks have shown an interest in breaking away from the rest of Britain. In 2017 Yorkshire took its first step into international sports when the Yorkshire football team began competing as its own country, officially entering the CONIFA federation the following year.
Does this mean we’re now finally going to get more media coverage than ChangeUK? 🤔 #EUelections19 pic.twitter.com/WxwveAAYtm
— Yorkshire Party (@Yorkshire_Party) May 27, 2019
Overall vote share in Yorkshire and Humber:
Brexit Party: 36.48%
Labour: 16.33%
Liberal Democrats: 15.53%
Green Party: 12.95%
Conservative Party: 7.20%
UKIP: 4.35%
Yorkshire Party: 3.94%
Change UK: 2.34%
English Democrat Party: 0.88%
