Most people in the Ridings consider themselves more Yorkshire than English

A new study has shown that most people living in God’s own county identify much more strongly with being Yorkshire than they do with being English.

Findings from The Yorkshire Society’s Big Yorkshire Conversation have shown what we already knew, Yorkshire folk are incredibly proud of where they come from and would much sooner see themselves as Yorkshire than English.

In total, there were over 4,500 participants in the study – all of whom answered questions on identity, the use of Yorkshire by brands and general devolution as a whole as part of the study.

More than 57% of those taking part said they felt “More Yorkshire than English” while only 9% said it was the other way round.

30% felt “Equally Yorkshire and English” or “didn’t know.”

And when asked what gave Yorkshire its identity, the most common answer was ‘people’, closely followed by ‘landscape’. Now that, we can completely agree with it.

On devolution, only 3% said they felt they were well informed on the government’s plans – whilst over 73% thought Yorkshire should have more decision-making powers like Scotland and Wales.

This suggests a strong desire for devolution in Yorkshire, as well as a need for greater education on devolution as a whole.

When asked how that might actually work, respondents were split between two options, a Yorkshire parliament and giving more powers to local authorities.

And asked if there was to be a referendum about a county parliament,a majority (56%) said they would vote for one, whilst only 23% said they would vote against.

The full report is to be published on 1 August, Yorkshire Day. The survey was held during April and May 2021.

Feature image – The Yorkshire Pudding Pie Company.