Census day, Sunday 21st of March, is almost upon us and being able to complete the Census form on-line will be here even sooner. But why should this be worthy of news to Yorkshire folk?
UK MEPs finished their roles in the EU Parliament over a year ago yet the much disliked EU Parliamentary Constituencies are still being used as the basis of dividing England into sub-regions for statistical purposes. That means the data collated in the forthcoming Census will be analysed and reported on the basis of these false sub-regions, INCLUDING ‘YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER’! The ‘North East’ and ‘North West’ are also such regions which include parts of Yorkshire and therefore, Yorkshire people.
No self-respecting Yorkshirean identifies with a region by any of these names. This has been made clear by public outcry leading to ‘Humberside’ being abolished as a Council and Lieutenancy back in 1996; by Yarm and Thornaby voting to effectively leave the ‘North East’ and return to Yorkshire administration (this was refused); by Saddleworth Council, in the ‘North West’, doggedly using a White Rose to represent them and by signposts being erected all around Yorkshire to mark her true boundary with neighbouring traditional counties. Our identity is “YORKSHIRE”, not ‘Yorkshire and the Humber’; ‘North East’ nor ‘North West’ and this Census is a great opportunity to state that point loudly and to send a message to the Government that it is time for these imposed EU regions to be dropped in favour of traditional regions with which people do identify.
The Office of National Statistics has included no “Yorkshire” tick-box on the Census but there is still a way to record your Yorkshireness:
Question 10 asks, “Where were you born?”
Question 14 asks, “What is your national identity?”
Question 15 asks, “What is your ethnic group?”
Although there is no Yorkshire option on any of these, there is an “Other” option on each of them. So to record your Yorkshireness on any or all of them, simply tick the “Other” option and enter “Yorkshire” in the space provided.
For anyone who considers they speak Yorkshire dialect more than English or any other language, there is even, at Question 18, an opportunity to record your main language which also has an “Other” option!
When the ONS analyse and report the data collated from these former EU regions, let the Government know that Yorkshire and Yorkshireness is very real and that we do not identify with the regions they imposed upon us.
Tell your friends and family!