Cameron fails to keep pledge on Yorkshire City Ministers

The Prime Minister made the pledge in his first major economic speech at the end of May when he travelled to West Yorkshire and announced that Labour's Regional Ministers would be replaced by a team of ministers to represent key cities to boost economies outside London and the South East.

Mr Cameron, who returned to work from paternity leave yesterday, said at the time the posts would be filled within weeks but more than three months on there is still no sign of action.

Rosie Winterton, who served as Labour's Yorkshire Minister, said: "It's all very well David Cameron coming up to Yorkshire with warm words about ensuring that the region would not be neglected by the new Government, but three months later we're still waiting for any sign of delivery, not only on supporting business but also on the City Ministers that he said were going to give a strong voice."

While Labour introduced Regional Ministers, the Tories trialled the idea of City Ministers in opposition, principally to build up their party machinery in places like Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside.

But Mr Cameron said he would extend the idea into Government as part of a package of measures to protect areas like Yorkshire – parts of which are highly dependent on public sector jobs – as public spending was slashed.

At a time when the North is braced to feel the pain of the spending cuts, the move echoed Michael Heseltine's role as Minister for Merseyside during Margaret Thatcher's time in Downing Street.

In his speech in Shipley in late May, Mr Cameron said: "I will be assigning ministers and senior MPs to some of our biggest cities, with responsibility to work with local communities to help drive forward economic development by making sure blockages in Whitehall are dealt with."

He also heralded the idea in an interview with the Yorkshire Post in which he spoke of his determination not to leave regions to suffer as the budget deficit is repaired and said the posts would be filled in weeks.

But three months on, Downing Street says details are "still being discussed", prompting criticism from senior politicians still concerned over the impact of the plan to abolish regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Yesterday Ministers began studying several applications from councils in the region to set up Local Enterprise Partnerships – led jointly by local authorities and business leaders to boost forward economic development – in place of the agency when it is scrapped from 2012

John Healey, Shadow Housing Minister and MP for Wentworth, said: "Every step taken so far by the new Government has removed the scope and strength for regions to boost their own economy with the abolition of RDAs, the abolition of Regional Ministers and regional funding being clawed back to Whitehall.

"The proposals for areas like ours, outside London and the South East, look increasingly bleak."

Labour leadership contender Ed Miliband, MP for Doncaster North, said: "Since this Government took office, the people of Yorkshire have been badly let down.

"Decisions like the cancellation of the loan to Sheffield Forgemasters show that this government won't stand up for local jobs and has no plan for economic growth."

But Stuart Andrew, Tory MP for Pudsey, said: "What we're trying to do as Leeds MPs from all parties is to work together – I think that's equally as important as having a Minister.

"I would certainly welcome the appointment of a Minister for Leeds, but there's an awful lot the Government has been trying to do in the first hundred days so some things I suppose have to wait."

A Downing Street spokesman insisted the idea was "definitely going to happen", but said logistical details still need to be settled.

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