Criticism Over Mayor’s £32,000 Branding Bill

The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has been accused of wasting money after it spent almost £32,000 on a rebranding exercise including a new logo.

The authority and Major David Skaith have also been criticised for not including a white rose — the traditional symbol of Yorkshire — within the design.

The mayor has defended the expenditure however saying it is vital the organisation has a strong unifying brand.

Combined authority papers show an external marketing agency was selected to deliver the rebranding at a cost of £31,860 after a tendering exercise.

Conservative councillor Keane Duncan, an executive member on North Yorkshire Council, said: 

“Almost £32,000 is quite frankly a scandalous amount for the mayor to spend on a logo.”

Cllr Duncan, who unsuccessfully ran for the office of Mayor, said the new logo was described as ‘ugly’, ‘cringeworthy’ and ‘woke’ when he posted an image on social media, with one user suggesting they could have done it in five minutes on the Microsoft Paint app.

He added: 

“Many Yorkshire folk will see this logo as the ultimate betrayal because it omits the white rose that has been a symbol of our great county since Tudor times.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Hollyer, a member of City Of York Council, also hit out at the spending.

“The combined authority already has a perfectly adequate logo and this ridiculous rebrand suggests that Mayor Skaith is more concerned about how he is perceived than actually delivering results for the people of York and North Yorkshire.”

The councillor said the combined authority had 12 members of staff in its media team.

He added: 

“If he was determined to have a new logo, why didn’t he just ask his bloated communications team to design one?”

Councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independent Group on North Yorkshire Council, called on the combined authority to “get on with the job in hand” rather than spending time and money on new branding and logos.

“Get houses built, transport improved and economic growth for the whole of York and North Yorkshire,” he added.

In response to the criticism, Mr Skaith said he was “dedicated to ensuring value for money”.

He added: 

“Investing in building a strong unifying brand that can be used across all aspects of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authorities work is vital. A strong professional brand will support our organisation as we seek inward investment, manage our region’s transport network, and build safe places for all.

“At inception, a rebrand was always agreed and doing this now will save on implementation as the combined authority grows and delivery rolls out.

“This was funded through a pre-approved core budget and was delivered under cost. The brand is intended to stand out and stand up boldly alongside other combined authority brands.

The mayor added that branding was “subjective”.

“Some people will love it, and some people will hate it – that’s fine. As a business owner, I know the importance of making sure you put your best foot forward as you sell yourself regionally, nationally, and internationally.”

On the specific criticism from Cllr Duncan, who lost out to the Labour mayor at last year’s mayoral election, a spokesperson for the Mayor added: 

“Had Cllr Duncan won the election he could’ve done himself proud and design a logo on MS Paint, however he didn’t. He was happy to sign off North Yorkshire Council’s £400,000 rebrand, so this reeks of hypocrisy.

“The mayor won’t take any lessons on good stewardship of public money from a man who pledged to spend a third of the annual mayoral funds on free parking and who knows how much on a hotel that isn’t for sale.”

It is understood the previous combined authority logo was designed in-house by staff at North Yorkshire Council.