A straw in the wind: Ian McMillan, the Bard of Barnsley, was commissioned recently to pen a poem to support Leeds’s efforts to become a host city for the UK’s 2018 football World Cup bid. “Even though I’m a Barnsley fan, I reckon the bid is good for Yorkshire as a whole,” he said. These days, towns and cities must work together to succeed in a global economy.
Until recently, few residents of west Yorkshire would have thought of themselves as belonging to “Leeds city region”. Probably most still do not. This grouping of 11 local authorities has, however, embarked on the most determined attempt in their history to maximise the benefits of co-operation.
