Gordon said Yorkshire had a population larger than Scotland and an economy larger than Wales, and, as such, it should have a parliament with a broader spectrum of views represented, rather than so much power resting with the four elected mayors.
The Lib Dem said that while people had been told the recent local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire would “simplify” the situation, he believed that was not the case.
“We’ve ended up with a new North Yorkshire Council at a higher tier and a Harrogate town council below it, so we’ve ended up with two tiers. In fact, there’s a third tier when you throw in the regional mayor,” he said.
“So we’ve ended up with more tiers, but those powers have been moved upwards rather than down to people.
“I think we owe it to have everyone have a seat at that table, not just all that power put in one person’s hands.”
Gordon said he believed a Yorkshire parliament was the way forward “if it’s good enough for Scotland, if it’s good enough for Wales, if it’s good enough for London”.
“We should have a model where we have broader people elected to it who can feed in all those issues into a Yorkshire-wide parliament. That, to me, is only a good thing,” he said.
