Councillors in York came together on Wednesday to vote to strip Prince Andrew of his freedom of York title as the city seeks to distance itself from the disgraced monarch.
Councillors from Lib Dem, Labour, Tory, Green and independent parties met at York Racecourse for the vote, joined by disgruntled members of the public, deciding to strip the Duke of the honour in a 30-minute meeting.
There are growing calls for him to have his dukedom removed, too, as unrest about the city's connection with the Prince grows following the settlement of Andrew’s sexual assault civil case with Virginia Giuffre in the States.
The freedom of York title was one of Andrew's last remaining major titles, having already been stripped of honourary military roles and HRH-style.
Labour councillor Aisling Musson referred to his dukedom of York as “his stain of an association with this city", as councillors agreed that the Queen or government should step in to remove the title if Prince Andrew did not do so himself.
Speaking after the meeting, Lib Dem Darryl Smalley, City of York Council’s executive member for culture, leisure & communities and proposer of the motion, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “The Honorary Freedom of York is the highest honour we, as a city, can bestow on those who represent the very best of York. The honour is held by many notable and accomplished people who carry it with pride and responsibly
“Having been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages by the Queen, we believe that it is right to remove all links that Prince Andrew still has with our great city.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
“I was pleased to see councillors of all parties support this motion and make it clear that it is no longer appropriate for Prince Andrew to represent York and its residents.
“The removal of this honorary title sends the right message that we as a city stand with victims of abuse.
“The next logical step is now for Prince Andrew to do the right thing and relinquish his Duke of York title.
“If he fails to do so, the Government and Buckingham Palace must step in to remove his title to finally end Prince Andrew’s connection to York.”
Speaking fro the public galley, Gwen Swinburn described the Prince as a "disgrace".
“He brings shame and reputational damage everywhere he goes, including to our city.
“The motion to withdraw his status goes nowhere near far enough. He needs to be be declared persona non grata in York.
“You (councillors) need to be starting whatever process is needed to remove his duke title.”
All councillors, barring the Lord Mayor and Lord Mayor elect, voted in favour of the motion with the other two abstaining as is customary in their office.
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.
Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.
Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".
The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.
Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.
Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.
A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.
It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.
Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)
Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.
"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."
If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.
All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.
Georgina Pellant -
28th April 2022 
