This story includes the most recent information regarding Jamie Driscoll. The editorial team advise you to read this article following page 3 article of Issue 1461. If you have any queries please contact: mediaofficer.union@newcastle.ac.uk
On Saturday 16 November the first of, former North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll’s Majority UK training events took place for prospective Councillors.
Driscoll, who, prior to May’s election, served as metro mayor for the North of Tyne Combined Authority has founded a new political organisation, Majority UK.
The organisation intends to provide support for prospective Councillors. This support comes in the form of ‘political education events’ as well as campaign backing by supplying candidates with electoral databases and ‘know-how’.
Speaking to The Courier, Driscoll explained that the ‘political education events’, primarily revolve around role-play and workshops.
He described an exercise in which the attendees had been told to write 200 words about themselves which was then condensed by another member of the group to 100 words. This was in order to help candidates convey themselves in an authentic way to voters.
Those that receive the support of the organisation must first agree to Majority UK’s central principles.
These principles include, ‘common ownership models of key utilities’, ‘tolerance and respect and opposition to all forms of racism and discrimination’, and ‘deliberative democracy - including citizen’s assemblies and greater accountability for elected representatives’.
When speaking to The Courier, he stated that these principles were 'very broad', and later went on to say that candidates could interpret them to fit the area they represent.
Driscoll said the organisation intends to focus on the council elections in Northumberland and Durham in May 2025 and other council elections in the North East in the years after.
He also stated that he is working with people around the country that are attempting to do a similar thing.
The founding of Majority UK comes in the wake of Driscoll’s campaign to become Mayor of the new North East Combined Authority. He ran as an independent candidate after he left Labour after not being selected as the party’s candidate for the election.
He received 28.2% of the total votes, losing to Labour’s Kim McGuinness who received 41.3% of the vote, with the next highest percentage being that of the Conservative Party’s Guy Renner-Thompson.
