A push for self rule for Yorkshire has been urged by an MP who claimed central government was weakening the region.

Austin Mitchell told delegates of the York-hosted convention of the Campaign for Yorkshire: "The door for regional government is open now.

"It is up to us to push it further and go through, and that is what we are preparing to do at this convention."

The Yorkshireman, an outspoken Labour MP who represents Grimsby, had his passionately regionalist speech met with applause from those who attended the convention, the first of its kind in Yorkshire.

He was speaking to delegates at the College of Ripon and York, including council and church leaders, MPs, businessmen and other senior figures in the region.

Mr Mitchell said: "I do have a dream. It's a dream of a Yorkshire which is strong, which controls its own destiny and which, through its own accountable government, can solve its own problems rather than be deluged by streams of suggestions and recommendations which come from the top and offer no real improvement.

"We have got to take power from the centre and spread it out, bring government closer to the people and allow them to be heard."

He said Government in England was more centralised than in any other western country. And he added Scotland and Wales' answer to their problems, their own political assembly, was relevant to Yorkshire.

The day-long convention, held on Saturday, aimed at bringing together interested parties to find out what they wanted, how they saw it could be achieved and what problems stood in the way.

Through a series of speeches and workshops, those in attendance attempted to devise a way forward.

A consensus was formed that one of the main problems was making regional government exciting to the general public, which meant showing it to be more about issues that directly affected them than institutions.

Regional government means devolving certain powers away from central government and putting them in the hands of the people of the regions.

The Campaign for Yorkshire's director Jane Thomas said: "There is more and more evidence that the concept of regional government is growing in popularity and that people can see the benefits to be had by giving their region a political voice.

"This region needs to have a serious debate about the way forward, and this convention marks the start of an exciting period."