Leeds and other Yorkshire cities need to do more to promote their European links - Yorkshire Post Letters

Leeds is twinned with the German city of Dortmund. Our group, Leeds for Europe, will be highlighting that link with a stall at its ‘Dortbunt’ culture and arts festival on Sunday, May 5. This follows our visit to French twin Lille last year.

Our visit to Germany is being organised independently of Leeds City Council but builds on the efforts to further relations established many decades ago.

Such civic friendships are enormously valuable, and I’d urge any local authorities in Yorkshire tempted to neglect them in the wake of Brexit and budgetary challenges to think again.

In Leeds there’s still more that can be done at little or no cost to promote our European links. We’ve long argued that Remain-voting Leeds ought to fly the flag of Europe above its public buildings…following examples already set by Holyrood in Scotland and our fellow northern English cities such as Liverpool; highlighting their outward-looking, inclusive nature and recognising the contributions many people born in other parts of Europe continue to make in our communities.

Human rights body the Council for Europe marks Europe Day – celebrating peace and unity – on May 5. The UK is still a member, so its flag is still one of ours. It’s shared with the European Union, who celebrate Europe Day slightly later, on May 9.

So, this May would be the ideal time for Leeds and similarly minded, progressive authorities in Yorkshire to show their true colours. It seems a missed opportunity every time I see an empty flagpole above Leeds Town Hall.

The first time we mentioned this on your letters page, we drew attention to a weird idea floating around at the time (‘Museum of Brexit? Fly the Europe flag instead’, August 24 2020).

Much like Brexit itself, this museum project isn’t delivering on its promises. It had been reported that potential sites had been whittled down to Peterborough or Boston, with “plans to open in two years’ time”, but that was back in 2021.

Would Peterborough or Boston still be happy to be so closely associated with such a catastrophic project? By which I mean Brexit itself, of course.

Another indication the museum project has lost momentum – much like Brexit itself – is a list on its website of the lords, ladies and other eminent personages backing it. They include former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Vote Leave chair Nigel Lawson. The website fails to recognise that Lord Lawson passed away in April 2023.