HEYCA Mayor pulls out of White Rose agreement

Luke Campbell and the Reform party’s disdain for Net Zero targets has led to him refusing to back the cross-county Mayoral collaboration, while at the same time green energy continues to be a key investment focus for East Yorkshire.

Back in March, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith signed the White Rose agreement, which pledges to have each county work more closely on business investment, promoting Yorkshire, and improving transport connections.

When he was elected as Hull & East Yorkshire’s inaugural Mayor in May, Campbell indicated that he would also sign up to the agreement, which aims to achieve growth for the region.

However, he has now pulled out, citing differences over achieving Net Zero as the core reason.

Speaking to Place Yorkshire, he said: “I wanted to collaborate and sign, but unfortunately, I couldn’t reach an agreement with the county’s other mayors about Net Zero targets.

“I was not elected to support Net Zero targets. Our people are paying some of the highest energy bills in Europe.

“However, I support green energy investment in the region as well as supporting cleaner air initiatives and will continue to collaborate with the county’s other mayors wherever I am able to.”

East Yorkshire is home to both the Goole and Humber Freeports, both of which have key investments focused on green energy, including the Humber Freeport’s Yorkshire Energy Park.

Other initiatives in the region include work on Hull’s £42.6m district heating network.

Following the news, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard posted on LinkedIn: “In March, alongside the Mayors of West and North Yorkshire, I signed the White Rose Agreement on behalf of South Yorkshire; committing to better strategic alignment and lobbying of government across a whole range of areas, including net zero jobs and clean energy.

“I’m sorry to say that despite our best efforts, we’ve not been able to convince Luke Campbell to sign up to that agreement on behalf of Hull and East Yorkshire.

“I want all of Yorkshire to work together to fight our corner. I firmly believe that when we work together we’re a powerhouse, and better able to bring a whole range of benefits to our communities.

“So we will continue to do our best to reach out to Luke and East Yorkshire wherever we can, but I’m disappointed we haven’t been able to work together more formally, and show a United Yorkshire front to government.”