I AM a Yorkshireman born and bred and proud of it, but first and foremost I am an Englishman. I think the idea of a Yorkshire parliament is selfish inward-looking nonsense.

The present government has fragmented Great Britain with its half-baked devolution and we must stop if fragmenting England.

What can the proposed parliament do that Westminster, County and District councils are not already doing?

We grumble about Brussels taking away the running of the country from Westminster, and now it is being proposed to do just that.

If this goes through and other regions follow, Westminster will have little to do, but I bet it will not cost less to run!

As far as the cost of the new parliament is concerned we will be the mugs who will have to pay for it all, and added to our Council Tax bill will be a thumping amount to pay for an army of civil servants and Yorkshire MPs who will do nothing new. Finally, if Wales and Scotland had a referendum why can't we?

If we do, vote no, no, no and save England from being chopped up.

Vic Naylor,

Fossway,

Stamford Bridge,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.