Local elections are often small concerns in the minds of students. Many think that because they only intend to live in their university city for the length of their degree, the concerns of local elections are not particularly of interest. The Courier spoke to Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority for his thoughts on this, as well as his work and campaign for election as Mayor of the North East.
We asked Mr Driscoll for comment on the importance of students voting in the upcoming election. “If you want a better world, vote for someone that’s going to build a better world”. He went on to concede that some issues at the centre of local elections might not impact students directly, but others very much do. Public transport, for instance, is a topic that affects the vast majority of students. Driscoll himself has proposed to make public transport free for under 18s and those in full-time education.
Another of his policies proposes an expansion of the Venture North Fund, which is used to invest in local industries, from £50 million to £500 million. The Courier questioned whether this would provide adequate opportunities for graduates. Driscoll responded by highlighting the expansion of Cramlington-based company Merit Holdings, where 96 graduate employment opportunities were created. According to a recent survey, Newcastle has a graduate retention rate of 36%. While this is comparatively rather high, the spectre of the old adage ‘Geordie boomerang’ does still haunt discussions about local industries. This is to say people from the North East move down south for job opportunities.
“I want to make it the other way. I want to make it so that people are thinking, actually, the North East is where I want to go because they’ve got a really vibrant cultural scene, because the house prices are affordable, because there’s actually good work there.”
According to a Government report in 2022, the North East’s employment rates for graduates between the ages of 21 and 30 stand at 89.5%, which places it third nationally. However, regarding high-skill employment the North East slips to seventh out of the nine Government Office Regions with 56.1% among 21-30 year old graduates. Driscoll sees this as an issue of promoting local research institutions and other technical industries, such as biomedical sciences and the National Innovation Centre for Ageing. He also comments on a need to work with the Universities of the region to keep researchers doing ground-breaking work, in the region and not moving elsewhere to finish their work.
Driscoll has also worked closely with the protest group New Green Deal Rising. He commented repeatedly on the importance of addressing the Climate Crisis, labelling it as one of the three main crises that the modern world faces, along with that of democracy and economics. He described his wish to focus on green energy, on both a regional level and an individual level, with houses in new developments being largely eco-friendly.
This serves to show the important work that local mayors can do, and how important it is for students to research the various candidates and vote for one that appeals to them.