First North East Mayor to be elected following historic devolution deal

Who are the candidates running for North East Mayor and why is this role so important to the region?

Roseanna Leconte
19th February 2024
Image Credit: Roseanna Leconte
The first ever North East mayor to oversee the entire region will be elected on 2 May to form the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA). The new position follows a historic devolution deal with the central government, which will see increased funding and political powers for the North East.

The devolution deal comes after years of negotiations between local leaders and the central government.

NEMCA brings together all seven local authorities of the region: Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham. The former three had previously formed the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA), electing Jamie Driscoll as the first and only North of Tyne mayor in May 2019. NEMCA will therefore replace NTCA, meaning the new mayor will subsequently replace the North of Tyne mayor.

The devolution deal, which was agreed in December 2022, comes after years of negotiations between local leaders and the central government. The deal consists of at least £4.2 billion of investment into the North East over a 30-year period commencing when the new mayor is elected, rendering it a monumental opportunity for the historically underfunded region to transform its economy and quality of life.

Alongside the funding, the election of a new mayor will allow the North East to hold more power over major decisions that were previously in the hands of Westminster. For example, the North East mayor will have extended powers over the region's transport systems, such as the Tyne and Wear metro as well as the power to make bus services public.

There are six candidates running for North East mayor: Jamie Driscoll, Kim McGuinness, Guy Renner-Thompson, Andrew Gray, Paul Donaghy, and Dr Aidan King.

Jamie Driscoll, the current North of Tyne mayor, will be running as an independent candidate after leaving the Labour party last year. In his manifesto, Driscoll's three main focuses are employment opportunities, which comprises of an effort to tackle child poverty, a green new deal, including a retrofit housing scheme, and a total transport network. Driscoll is the co-founder of Net Zero North East England.

Kim McGuinness, the only female candidate, will be running on behalf of the Labour Party. McGuiness has been the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police since 2019. McGuinness' manifesto is made up of 12 pledges, including to end child poverty, improve the metro, introduce a mayor's childcare grant, and to go beyond net zero. She states that "ending child poverty will be the thread that runs through every decision I make as mayor."

Northumberland county councillor Guy Renner-Thompson was selected as the candidate for the Conservative Party. In his manifesto, Renner-Thompson pledges to generate more industrial jobs, introduce a small business grant scheme, and level up schools and colleges. He would like to "make the North East the home of the jobs of the future". The councillor stands against the introduction of mayoral tax rises, low traffic areas, and clean air zones.

Andrew Gray, who works at Durham University, will be standing for the Green Party in the mayoral election. Some of Gray's priorities include making homes warmer and more energy efficient, regulating bus services, increasing funding for adult education, and supporting local businesses.

Sunderland city councillor Paul Donaghy is running for mayor on behalf of Reform UK. The Newcastle University alumni believes in "prioritising the needs and concerns of the community above all else." Donaghy will "strive to create a safer, greener, and more vibrant community, where opportunities for growth and success are accessible to all."

Lastly, Dr Aidan King, who works at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, will be the Liberal-Democrat candidate. One of King's top priorities will be to support the NHS, such as with bursary schemes for trainee nurses. As the latest candidate to join the race, King does not yet have an accessible manifesto.

The Courier reached out to all six candidates to ask how their policies will take the North East's student population into account, with four universities in the region.

Some of the big issues that candidates are likely to have to answer to are climate change, bus services, and reopening the Leamside railway line between Gateshead and Durham. Renner-Thompson, Gray, McGuinness and Driscoll have explicitly mentioned reopening the Leamside line in their manifestos. The latter 3 are also pledging to use their mayoral powers to regulate the region's bus services.

The Courier reached out to all six candidates to ask how their policies will take the North East's student population into account, with four universities in the region. We received responses from Gray, McGuinness, Renner-Thompson, King, and Driscoll.

Gray told The Courier: "The rights of Future Generations are at the heart of my manifesto". Gray emphasised that he wants to ensure housing is "secure, good quality, affordable and well insulated". He would also like to "support[ ] vibrant local economies and cultural opportunities, so that young people do not have to leave the region to find work or pursue a career."

McGuinness expressed that she would like to "make the North East both a place to study and to start your career." She is also "campaigning for powers to take on rogue landlords" and is striving for "an integrated bus and Metro system [in which] we can find more ways to offer subsidised student fares."

Renner-Thompson is keen to cooperate with universities to tackle housing, transport, and employment issues, such as exploring the demand for new bus routes. The Newcastle University alumni is planning to create thousands of new jobs in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, digital and AI, pharmaceutical and life sciences, renewable energy, and more. He would like to launch a homes retrofit programme and "make it easy for students to report issues with poor housing."

King shares the sentiment to keep talented graduates in the region by providing "long and productive careers in the North East", working with universities to secure relevant skills training. King is eager to develop housing that meets grade A energy standards: "I will ensure that the graduates of tomorrow have good, well-paid stable jobs and a comfortable warm home to live in."

Lastly, Driscoll urges that "fixing our broken transport system is [his] top priority", and would like to introduce free travel for full-time students. As North of Tyne Mayor, Driscoll says he has already created 5,377 new jobs and is building 2,133 new homes on brownfield sites. He wants to "make sure everyone has a chance to build a secure, happy and rewarding life here."

Anyone living in the seven local authorities that make up the North East can vote in this election. Register online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote ahead of the election date: 2 May.

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