A Yorkshire Parliament in Whitehall?

I read an interesting article in the Yorkshire Post this morning, which is looking at possible candidates to represent the interests of Yorkshire if (and when) many of the current MP's will either lose their seats or be deselected.


Amomg those suggested were:-

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York,

Ken Morrison, the head of the Morrisons Supermarket Group,

Keith Halliwell, the ex head of Middlesborough Police,

Geoff Boycott, cricketer,

Angela Baker, "Calendar Girl",

Selina Scott, ex TV presenter,

Sir Michael Parkinson, retired chat show host.


So how are they qualified to represent our interests?

Well it seems to me that John Sentamu is a man of principles. I recollect him cutting his "dog collar" in half on a TV chat show, and saying he would no longer wear one until Robert Mugabe was removed from power. This certainly shows that he is not afraid to speak out about what he perceives to be the wrongs and injustices of this world. I wonder how many politicians have made such an open stand against the tyrant?

There can be no doubt that Ken Morrison has the entrepeneurial skills required for running the exchequer! It was his father, if I recollect correctly, who began selling eggs and other similar produce on a market stall in Bradford. Ken also saw the opportunity to purhase a less successful supermarket chain (Safeway) and combine it with his own and eventually make a success out of the deal!

Keith Halliwell (nicknamed Robocop for his zero tolerance approach to criminals in Middlesborough) could do well rooting out the present corrupt politicians!

Now Geoff Boycott is renowned for being a straight speaker - what we in Yorkshire say "Calling a spade a spade". There seem to be very few polticians who speak totally truthfully. Geoff would bring a breath of fresh air to the government!

Angela Baker has shown that from little beginnings great things can be achieved. The need to replace some tatty furniture in the hospital waiting room where her husband had been treated for leukaemia sparked off the original idea to do some fund raising, and from the initial need to raise a few thousand pounds, the Calendar Girls, with Angela as their leader have now raised well over a million pouinds for leukaemia research. I wonder how many of our current politicians could do anywhere near as well in the money raising stakes?

Selina Scott has already challenged the BBC's attitude to ageing people, but she has also shown that older people can be gainfully employed. She produces knitted garments from her own herd of (I think it is) alpaca. She advocates more people living in our beautiful countryside and respecting it. A Possible Green Party Candidate???

Sir Michael Parkinson - well he got himself into a bit of hot water with his comments on Jade Goody, but what he said was essentially true! He seems to be becoming a champion of the senior citizens - and let's face it, the proportion of older people to younger people is rapidly increasing.

Others suggested to represent the people of Yorkshire were:-
G P Taylor, the Scarborough based author , ex policeman and ex vicar who has wide life experience and undoubted communication skills, Mike Tomlinson, husband of Jayne, the fundraiser, Kevin Sinfield, the Leeds Rhinos Captain who has shown that you don't need to be seen staggering out of night clubs in the early hours of the morning to gain street credibility. He could be an excellent role model for young people. Med Hughes, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, who could inject some much needed common sense into Westminster and former labour politician David Hinchliffe who stood down in 2005 to register his disgust with labour and the "ya-boo" atmosphere at Westminster. Then we could also have the Wakefield Whistle Blowers - Karen Allcock, Keth Bayliss, Clive Womersley, Vincent Felix, Doug Lafferty and Grant Morley, who were prepared to put their jobs on the line to expose the injustices and failings they saw within the Wakefield care systems.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that Yorkshire men and women should make up at least 50% of our parliament. They certainly could do no worse than our current MP's, and I am sure they could do far better!