Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber
Combined authorities		South Yorkshire West Yorkshire
Districts	6 unitary 9 metropolitan
Counties	East Riding of Yorkshire Lincolnshire (part) North Yorkshire (part) South Yorkshire West Yorkshire
Government
• House of Commons	54 MPs (of 650)
Area [1]
• Total	6,010 sq mi (15,560 km2)
• Land	5,948 sq mi (15,404 km2)
• Water	2 sq mi (4 km2)
• Rank	5th
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	5,481,431
• Rank	7th
• Density	920/sq mi (356/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [3]
• Ethnic groups	List 85.4% White 8.9% Asian 2.1% Mixed 2.1% Black 1.4% other
Religion (2021) [3]
• Religion	List 44.9% Christianity 39.4% no religion 8.1% Islam 0.5% Hinduism 0.4% Sikhism 0.3% Buddhism 0.2% Judaism 0.4% other 5.7% not stated
GSS code	E12000003
ITL code	TLE
GVA	2021 estimate[4]
• Total	£133.4 billion
• Rank	7th
• Per capita	£24,330
• Rank	7th
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate[5]
• Total	£151.8 billion
• Rank	7th
• Per capita	£27,692
• Rank	6th

Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official

.

It is subdivided into

Cameron–Clegg coalition government

, with the associated government offices abolished in 2011.

Geographical context

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Geology

In the Yorkshire and the Humber region, there is a very close relationship between the major topographical areas and the underlying geology.^[7] The Pennine chain of hills in the west is of Carboniferous origin. The central vale is Permo-Triassic. The North York Moors in the north-east of the region are Jurassic in age, while the Yorkshire Wolds and Lincolnshire Wolds to the south east are Cretaceous chalk uplands.^[7]

Climate

This region of England generally has cool summers and relatively mild winters, with the upland areas of the North York Moors and the Pennines experiencing the coolest weather and the Vale of York the warmest. Weather conditions vary from day to day as well as from season to season. The latitude of the area means that it is influenced by predominantly westerly winds with depressions and their associated fronts, bringing with them unsettled and windy weather, particularly in winter. Between depressions, there are often small mobile anticyclones that bring periods of fair weather. In winter anticyclones bring cold dry weather. In summer the anticyclones tend to bring dry, settled conditions which can lead to drought. For its latitude, this area is mild in winter and cooler in summer due to the influence of the Gulf Stream in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Air temperature varies on a daily and seasonal basis. Cities such as Sheffield, Leeds, and Bradford are generally cooler due to their inland and upland location, while York, Hull, and Wakefield are warmer due to their lowland location. The temperature is usually lower at night; January is the coldest time of the year and July is usually the warmest month.^[8]

Snow is not uncommon in the winter, Yorkshire is mostly hilly/mountainous, and the Yorkshire Dales and the Pennines can have extreme snowstorms with high snowdrifts. Inland/upland settlements, such as Skipton or Ilkley, have more snow than coastal towns. Hull and Scarborough have less snow as their weather is moderated by the ocean.

Climate data for settlements in the region:

Local government

The official region consists of the following subdivisions:^[13]

Key

(UA) unitary authority

(MC) metropolitan county

(CA) combined authority

Ceremonial county	Council area	Cities/towns
East Riding of Yorkshire	East Riding of Yorkshire (UA)	towns of Beverley, Bridlington, Driffield, Goole, Hedon, Hessle, Hornsea, Howden, Market Weighton, Pocklington, Snaith and Withernsea
	Kingston upon Hull (UA)	City of Hull
North Yorkshire (part only)	North Yorkshire (UA)	City of Ripon as well as the towns of Harrogate, Scarborough, Northallerton, Knaresborough, Selby, Skipton, Whitby and Filey
	York (UA)	City of York as well as the town of Haxby.
Lincolnshire (part only)	North Lincolnshire (UA)	Towns of Scunthorpe, Barton-upon-Humber and Brigg
	North East Lincolnshire (UA)	Towns of Grimsby and Cleethorpes
South Yorkshire (also MC and CA)	Sheffield	City of Sheffield as well as the town of Stocksbridge
	Rotherham	Towns of Rotherham, Wath, Maltby and Swinton
	Barnsley	Towns of Barnsley, Hoyland, Penistone and Wombwell
	Doncaster	City of Doncaster as well as the town of Thorne
West Yorkshire (also MC and CA)	Wakefield	Towns of Featherstone, Knottingley, Normanton and Pontefract
	Kirklees	Towns of Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley
	Calderdale	Towns of Halifax, Brighouse, Todmorden, Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Hebden Royd
	Bradford	City of Bradford as well as the towns of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley and Ilkley
	Leeds	City of Leeds as well as the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, Wetherby and Yeadon

North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull unitary authorities used to be part of Humberside which meant the region was called Yorkshire & Humberside.

List of districts by population

Key

City

Borough

District

^[14]

Rank	District	County	Population
1	Leeds	West Yorkshire	789,194
2	North Yorkshire	North Yorkshire	614,505
3	Sheffield	South Yorkshire	582,506
4	Bradford	West Yorkshire	537,173
5	Kirklees	West Yorkshire	438,727
6	Wakefield	West Yorkshire	345,038
7	East Riding of Yorkshire	East Riding of Yorkshire	339,614
8	Doncaster	South Yorkshire	310,542
9	Rotherham	South Yorkshire	264,671
10	Kingston upon Hull	East Riding of Yorkshire	260,645
11	Barnsley	South Yorkshire	245,199
12	York	North Yorkshire	209,893
13	Calderdale	West Yorkshire	203,826
14	North Lincolnshire	Lincolnshire	172,005
15	North East Lincolnshire	Lincolnshire	159,821

Regional assembly

The Yorkshire and Humber Assembly was a partnership of all local authorities in the region and representatives of various economic, social and environmental sectors. The full Assembly normally met three times a year, normally in February, June and October.

The full Assembly is responsible for providing regional leadership, agreeing regional strategic priorities, directing the development of the Integrated Regional Framework and endorsing key regional strategies. Membership comprises all 22 local authorities in this region, plus 15 Social, Economic and Environmental partners, and the National Parks for planning purposes.^[15]

On 31 March 2009, the Assembly was abolished and replaced by Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, until its subsequent closure in 2015.

Yorkshire is one of the two regions (along with the

before the relevant provisions expired in June 2005.

European Parliament

Before the UK exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the European constituency of Yorkshire and the Humber was coterminous with the English region.

Demographics

Population, density and settlements

County	Population	Population Density	Largest town/city	Largest urban area
Yorkshire and the Humber	5,177,200	328/km2	Leeds (761,100)	West Yorkshire Urban Area (1,499,465)
West Yorkshire	2,118,600	1,004/km2	Leeds (761,100)	West Yorkshire Urban Area (1,499,465)
South Yorkshire	1,292,900	833/km2	Sheffield (551,800)	Sheffield Urban Area (640,720)
East Riding of Yorkshire	587,100	137/km2	Kingston upon Hull (257,000)	Kingston upon Hull Urban Area (301,416)
North Yorkshire (part)	1,061,300	123/km2	York (193,300)	York Urban Area (137,505)
Lincolnshire (part)	217,900	508/km2	Grimsby (87,574)	Grimsby/Cleethorpes (138,842)

^[16]

The region has fewer degree-educated adults than the England average and the UK's highest rate of cancer.

Ethnicity

Ethnic group	Year
	1981 estimations[17]		1991[18]		2001[19]		2011[20]		2021[21]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
White: Total	4,600,341	96.8%	4,622,503	95.6%	4,641,263	93.48%	4,691,956	88.8%	4,679,965	85.5%
White: British	–	–	–	–	4,551,394	91.67%	4,531,137	85.75%	4,431,265	80.9%
White: Irish	–	–	–	–	32,735	0.65%	26,410	0.49%	25,215	0.5%
White: Irish Traveller/Gypsy	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,378	–	5,891	0.1%
White: Roma	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,464	0.2%
White: Other	–	–	–	–	57,134	1.15%	130,031	2.46%	208,130	3.8%
Asian or Asian British : Total	–	–	159,355	3.3%	234,826	4.72%	385,964	7.3%	487,055	8.8%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	–	–	40,752		51,493		69,252		81,322	1.5%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	–	–	94,820		146,330		225,892		296,437	5.4%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	–	–	8,347		12,330		22,424		29,018	0.5%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese	–	–	8,177		12,340		28,435		29,589	0.5%
Asian or Asian British: Asian Other	–	–	7,259		12,333		39,961		50,689	0.9%
Black or Black British: Total	–	–	36,634	0.8%	34,262	0.69%	80,345	1.52%	117,643	2.2%
Black or Black British: African	–	–	4,885		9,625		46,033		80,907	1.5%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	–	–	21,513		21,308		23,420		22,736	0.4%
Black or Black British: Other	–	–	10,236		3,329		10,892		14,000	0.3%
Mixed: Total	–	–	–	–	44,995	0.9%	84,558	1.6%	117,017	2.2%
Mixed: Caribbean	–	–	–	–	18,187		33,241		39,296	0.7%
Mixed: African	–	–	–	–	4,094		9,321		15,644	0.3%
Mixed: Asian	–	–	–	–	14,218		26,008		36,888	0.7%
Mixed: Other Mixed	–	–	–	–	8,496		15,988		25,189	0.5%
Other: Total	–	–	18,032	0.4%	9,487	0.19%	40,910	0.77%	79,094	1.5%
Other: Arab	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,340		25,474	0.5%
Other: Any other ethnic group	–	–	18,032	0.4%	9,487	0.19%	19,570		53,620	1.0%
Non-White: Total	154,344	3.2%	214,021	4.4%	323,570	6.5%	591,777	11.2%	800,809	14.5%
Total	4,754,685	100%	4,836,524	100%	4,964,833	100%	5,283,733	100%	5,480,774	100%

Teenage pregnancy

For top-tier authorities, Kingston upon Hull has the highest

]

Rotherham had the UK's youngest grandmother – 26 years old. Her 12-year-old daughter gave birth on 26 August 1999.[22]

Social deprivation

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2023)

For multiple deprivation in England, measured by the Indices of deprivation 2007,^[23] the most deprived council districts in the region are, in descending order – Kingston upon Hull (11th in England), Bradford (32nd), Doncaster (41st), Barnsley (43rd), North East Lincolnshire (49th), Sheffield (63rd), Wakefield (66th), Rotherham (68th), Kirklees (82nd), Leeds (85th), and Scarborough (97th). These areas are mostly represented by Labour MPs, with a few Conservative MPs representing parts of Leeds (with a Lib Dem MP) and North East Lincolnshire, and all of Scarborough. Apart from Scarborough, they are unitary authorities.

The least deprived districts are, in descending order – Harrogate, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Craven, and Selby – all in North Yorkshire. Like all of North Yorkshire, they are represented by Conservative MPs, aside from Selby which elected a Labour MP at the 2023 Selby and Ainsty by-election. At county level, the least deprived areas are, in descending order – North Yorkshire, York and the East Riding of Yorkshire which all have roughly the same level of deprivation, and lower than the majority of England, including Cheshire and Northamptonshire.

The region as a whole is one of the more deprived in England, measured by having far more

(LSOAs) in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived districts.

Kingston upon Hull has the highest proportion of people not in education, employment or training NEETs in the region (and fairly high for the UK – 10.6%).^[24][25] This is another demographic extreme it shares with Knowsley in Merseyside.

In March 2011 the region had the third highest overall unemployment claimant count in England with 4.4%. For the region, Hull has the highest rate with 7.8% which is the highest for any English district; North East Lincolnshire is next with 6.4%, and Doncaster has 5.2%. Richmondshire has the lowest rate with 1.8% and Harrogate is next lowest with 1.9%.^[26]

Elections

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In the 2015 general election, 39% of the region's electorate voted Labour, 33% Conservative, 16% UKIP, 7% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. Labour had almost twice as many seats than the Conservatives with 33 Labour, 19 Conservative and 2 Liberal Democrat. There was a 2.5% swing from Conservative to Labour. However, although Labour has around 60% of the region's seats, the geographic spread is mostly Conservative, due to the Labour seats having a much smaller geographic area.

In the 2017 general election, Sheffield Hallam incumbent Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats) was defeated by Labour candidate Jared O'Mara, with Labour taking all of South Yorkshire while remaining concentrated in the other coalfield areas and Hull. However, the 2019 general election saw Labour lose ground, mainly to the Conservatives, within the region.

ONS ITL

In the

(ITL), Yorkshire and the Humber is a level-1 ITL region, coded "UKE", which is subdivided as follows:

ITL 1	Code	ITL 2	Code	ITL 3	Code
Yorkshire and the Humber	UKE	East Riding and North Lincolnshire	UKE1	Kingston upon Hull	UKE11
				East Riding of Yorkshire	UKE12
				North and North East Lincolnshire	UKE13
		North Yorkshire	UKE2	York	UKE21
				North Yorkshire CC	UKE22
		South Yorkshire	UKE3	Rotherham	UKE31
				Sheffield	UKE32
		West Yorkshire	UKE4	Bradford	UKE41
				Leeds	UKE42
				Kirklees	UKE44
				Wakefield	UKE45

Transport

Transport policy

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2020)

As part of the national transport planning system, the

Within the region the local transport authorities plan for the future by producing Local Transport Plans (LTP) which outline their strategies, policies and implementation programmes.^[28] The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006–11. In the Yorkshire and The Humber region the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: East Riding of Yorkshire U.A.,^[29] Kingston upon Hull,^[30] North East Lincolnshire U.A.,^[31] North Lincolnshire U.A.,^[32] North Yorkshire,^[33] South Yorkshire,^[34] West Yorkshire^[35] and York U.A.^[36]

Road

The M62 motorway is Yorkshire's main east–west thoroughfare, and north–south routes are the M1 and the A1, with only the A1 continuing further north, with an upgrade to motorway status currently being built between Leeming and Barton. The other main north–south road in the region is the A19.^[37] The M180 (continuing as the A180) connects the ports at Grimsby and Immingham via the M18 (European route E22).

The A64 road connects areas in the north-east of the region to the main body of motorways. The M1 was originally designed to finish at the A1 at Doncaster; this section became the M18 in December 1967. The section from the Thurcroft Interchange to Leeds (originally known as the Leeds-Sheffield Spur) was essentially designed to replace the A61, which is still the main road that connects the centres of Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield and Leeds, and continues through Harrogate and Ripon to Thirsk. The M180 is shadowed by the A18, which is the main road through Scunthorpe. The single-carriageway A1079 connects Hull to York, and has been exceeding its designed capacity for many years.

Chain Bar Interchange

on the M62, looking west, at the end of the M606, north of Cleckheaton

The main north–south and east–west routes interchange at a series of junctions to the south and east of Leeds, near Castleford. Leeds and Bradford have inner-city urban motorways, while Sheffield has the Sheffield Parkway and Hull has the Clive Sullivan Way (A63) which connect the city centres with the motorway network. Leeds has an inner-ring road network made mostly out of purpose-built motorway stretches which is mostly sub-terrain to the north of the city centre. Bradford, Huddersfield, Sheffield and York have inner-ring roads made by re-aligning existing roads while Halifax has a town-centre relief scheme made up of the Aachen Way and the North Bridge flyovers. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner central office is on the B6159 in east Leeds (Hillcrest House), which processes England and Wales LGV and PSV licences.

The Humber Bridge, the tallest bridge in the UK at 538 feet, was the world's longest suspension bridge from 17 July 1981 until 5 April 1998; it was built to connect with a proposed new town near the A15/M180 interchange.

Rail

The central hubs of the rail network in the region are

Leeds has a fairly extensive commuter network and an electrified section in the North of Bradford provides many commuter services. Sheffield has a smaller commuter rail network and there are also less extensive systems in Doncaster, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Harrogate, which connect the districts of the settlements to the centre by rail. The express service between Leeds and Huddersfield is notably quick.

The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and West Yorkshire Metro subsidise commuters' travel with discount schemes. Class 399 tram-trains were introduced in Sheffield in 2017.^[40]

Hull is connected to

and nearby rural stations south of York, being of great use to commuters to York since being reopened in the 1980s.

world speed record

for a diesel train (148 mph) near Thirsk in 1987.

South of the Humber,

Manchester Airport

).

The region is home to a rail land speed record. On 1 November 1987, an InterCity 125 travelled at 238 km/h between Northallerton and Thirsk.^[41]

Mass transit

Sheffield Supertram

in 1998

Only Sheffield has its own mass-transit system, the

scheme, which itself, was also cancelled. In the past Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield and York have all had mass-transit systems.

Air

Airports in the region are Leeds Bradford Airport at Yeadon, Doncaster Sheffield Airport (which opened in April 2005 on the former RAF Finningley) near Doncaster and Humberside Airport (which opened in April 1974 on the former RAF Kirmington) near Brigg in North Lincolnshire. Leeds Bradford Airport is the largest in the region by passenger numbers, Robin Hood boasts the longest runway (2.7 km) of any airport in the region and Humberside Airport boasts an active heliport. Jet2.com, a popular low-cost airline at Leeds Bradford has around fifty Boeing 737 aircraft.

Sheffield City Airport formerly served the city of Sheffield. However, the airport struggled to attract many scheduled services and closed following the opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Lying outside of the region Teesside International Airport (former RAF Middleton St George) serves the northernmost areas of the region, being next to the River Tees, and less than a mile from Over Dinsdale on North Yorkshire's northern edge. There are day and night direct rail connections from the region to Manchester Airport.^[42] National Express coach services also run directly to Heathrow Airport from the region.

Water

MS Norsea) ferry, which operates from Hull

, in March 2010; the service to Rotterdam began in August 1965 and the service to Gothenburg (Göteborg) started in March 1966

timber

.

The region also has a canal network. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal links West Yorkshire with the North West and the Aire and Calder Navigation links Leeds and the coal fields of West and North Yorkshire with the ports to the East of the region. There are also several smaller canals in the region, often built for quite specific purposes. Many stretches of the smaller canals in the region have been backfilled. The steepest locks in Britain are at Bingley – Bingley Five Rise Locks, built by John Longbotham, who designed the canal.

Economy

Drax power station's 850 foot chimney, built in May 1969, is the tallest in the UK; the power station burns 10 million tonnes of coal a year, via 30 trains a day. It has the second-largest electricity output in western Europe, after Neurath Power Station

in western Germany

Until 2011,

, run by Mark Robson.

.

Yorkshire in the past has been synonymous with

, Germany). 29% of the UK's oil is refined on the Humber.