Transport, devolution and social care top Yorkshire's political agenda in 2020 as government aims to move on from Brexit

And in Yorkshire, where the transformation from red to blue in a host of Labour strongholds helped gift the Prime Minister his majority, expectations will be high that some of the region’s most intractable issues will finally be addressed as a new decade gets underway.

Much of this anticipation is based on the PM’s own words in the run-up to the General Election, a period which saw him promise greater devolution to northern England, improved transport links – including high speed rail linking the region’s big cities – and better prospects for left-behind towns.

Though Brexit will be the immediate priority at Westminster in the first weeks of 2020, there are now few obstacles to getting Mr Johnson’s Withdrawal Bill passed by Parliament before the January 31 deadline.

Negotiations with Brussels over the UK’s future relationship with the European Union will continue in the background, but in the meantime the Conservative government will be expected to make progress on its domestic priorities and the PM’s stated commitment to levelling up the country.

His comfortable majority – and Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to stand down in the aftermath of General Election – means Labour will spend the early weeks of 2020 looking inward as it seeks to choose a successor who can improve its prospects.

Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton said: “With the Tories having a comfortable majority in Parliament, I fear that Boris Johnson will be able to shun environmental protections and workers’ rights on a scale never seen before in Britain. Make no mistake, this is a hard-right Tory government that will not treat the climate emergency with the seriousness it deserves at a time of unprecedented danger to our planet’s survival.”

For leaders in Yorkshire, the transfer of powers and funding as part of a devolution deal will be at the top of their wish-list.

A deal to give West Yorkshire a greater say over its own affairs was close to being signed prior to the election being called, and will likely be finalised soon.

Similar ‘city region’ deals for North and East Yorkshire could well make progress once this initial hurdle has been cleared, while Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis will hope for a breakthrough on his area’s £30m-a-year deal after months of impasse with local leaders.

This year will also provide some news – not all of it necessarily good – about the future of several high-profile transport schemes in Yorkshire.