FROM 1979 through the Thatcher, Major, Blair/Brown and Cameron years to the current May Government, the country has been governed on a free market capitalist strategy.

Many would say this has been reasonably successful. However, as the 2016 general election revealed, the public mood is changing.

The youth of the country are looking towards Corbyn and socialism. Another large section of the voting community from the North of England are also turning away from the status quo: they have had enough of the North-South divide.

Northern voters were mainly responsible for Brexit, which astonished Cameron’s government. They underestimated the mood of the northern people whose lifestyle is way behind the south of England.

Theresa May’s government advisers in the affluent South still do not understand the feeling of the Northern voter, despite the Brexit vote.

They pushed Theresa May into a general election she did not need. If you were living in the north of England it was not difficult to predict the outcome.

The government needs a radical rethink. A satisfactory Brexit result for the UK will certainly not be enough.

The North-South divide is real and it is hurting. A city mayor here and there is not the answer. This is just tinkering at the edges as the smaller towns will be marginalised.

Yorkshire is a part of the UK with great potential. The way forward is a one-Yorkshire solution: that is, devolution, with Yorkshire given similar powers to Scotland and Yorkshire elected ministers deciding the way forward for Yorkshire.

John P Hall,

Treasurer,

Yorkshire Party,

Walker Terrace, Follifoot, Harrogate