Forget Brexit… Let’s Yexit.
1. We basically have our own Language
Ey up, Eh Bah Gum, Moff darn t’pub!
Commonly known as Tyke, Yorkie or Broad Yorkshire, the dialect is something synonymous with the character and culture of God’s own County. We like to make it difficult for other Britons (especially southerners) to understand us.
If Yorkshire were it’s own nation we could claim Tyke as our official language. This means that we could start using ‘reight proper’ grammar and spelling on all our road signs, in all our school classrooms and throughout all our literature – how much better would ‘Lord ot’ rings’ be compared to the English version?
2. We’d be a formidable sporting powerhouse internationally
Out of the England squad for the last world cup, we had SIX players from Yorkshire.
In the Rio 2016 Olympics, Yorkshire athletes brought home a whopping 5 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 4 bronze. If we had been competing as an independent nation, that would have placed us as 17th out of 79 countries. That’s still pretty good going, considering the Yorkshire athletes only make up a small section of Team GB!
And this isn’t an anomaly, Yorkshire has had a history of legendary sportsmen and women. Look at Herbert Chapman, Heather Joy Armitage, Beryl Burton, Nicola Adams, and Jonny Bairstow to name but a few.
3. Population and Size
Yorkshire is the largest traditional County in England, and since we were split into 4 counties, North Yorkshire still ranks as the largest. In addition to this, we have a population of roughly 5.3 million – more than Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. This represents a large area of land with a complex history and many subcultures and traditions, some that only other Yorkshire Men and Women will ever understand.
4. Unique DNA and healthy diversity
This also brings me onto the next point – in a recent study, scientists found that the people of Yorkshire (specifically West Yorkshire) have DNA which is unique within the UK, showing that Yorkies really are a completely different breed!
In addition to our traditional British heritage, Yorkshire also supports a vast diversity of cultures and backgrounds. Consider Leeds West Indian Carnival, a vibrant celebration of culture, or Bradford’s legendary reputation for amazing international cuisine – none of this would be possible without our region supporting people who relocate here from all over the world. In fact, our original roots can be traced back to Scandinavian settlements over 1000 years ago – and may be the basis of many Tyke words and phrases still commonly used today!
5. County Pride
In all honesty, is there anywhere else in England where you can go where people genuinely love where they come from? Go to any UK festival, and I bet you’ll hear familiar chant of ‘Yorkshire! Yorkshire! Yorkshire!’ over the crowds. Go down any street in Yorkshire, and I bet you you’ll see at least one Yorkshire rose flying overhead.
Maybe it’s the beautiful scenery and rolling dales. Maybe it’s the vibrant cities and bustling streets filled with a variety of characters and cultures. Whatever it is, I think it’s easy to say that Yorkshire pride is one of the most obvious, important and characteristic features of our proud nation, and binds us all together in solidarity.
With all the uproar and arguments over Brexit, it seems that the only thing we can take solace in is the fact that we are Yorkshire, we are proud, and we’ll still be here together no matter what happens to the UK.
