| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 31% [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Election result by council areas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 2024 North East mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024 to elect the first mayor of the North East, a role created under the North East devolution deal announced in 2022. The election took place the same day as council elections within the region, as well as local elections across England and Wales.
The winner was Kim McGuinness of the Labour Party, with independent candidate Jamie Driscoll, who had been the Labour North of Tyne elected mayor before leaving the party to contest the election, in second place. [2]
The North East Mayoral Combined Authority is due to come into existence four days after this election, on 7 May 2024. [3] The authority will replace the North of Tyne Mayoral Combined Authority and the North East Combined Authority. [3]
The mayoral combined authority has a budget and powers relating to growth, adult education and skills, housing and regeneration. [4]
While previous mayoral elections in the United Kingdom have used a supplementary vote (SV) system, this election used a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system to elect the mayor as a result of the changes made by the Elections Act 2022.
All registered electors living in the North East aged 18 or over on 2 May 2024 were entitled to vote in the mayoral election. Those who were temporarily away from the North East (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the mayoral election. The deadline to register to vote in the election was 11:59pm on 16 April 2024. [5]
Tyneside was suggested as a potential location for another barge like Bibby Stockholm to be used to house asylum-seekers. The Labour candidate Kim McGuinness and the independent candidate Jamie Driscoll both said they opposed any such proposals. [6]
On transport, Driscoll proposed a "total transport network" covering buses and the Tyne and Wear Metro. This would mean he would "take the buses back under public control, open new rail routes around the region, integrate public transport and make one ticket for rail, bus and metro and lower fare, making them free altogether for under 18s". [7] He also proposed "on demand" bus services for rural areas. [8] McGuinness said she would get public control of buses and "build new railway infrastructure". [4] The Conservative candidate Guy Renner-Thompson said he would turn the A1 road into a dual carriageway. [4] He supported integrating bus and rail transport but opposed public ownership. The Reform UK candidate Paul Donaghy proposed 50% public ownership of public transport. The Green Party candidate Andrew Gray said he supported 15-minute city principles that would reduce demand for transport. [9]
Newcastle implemented a Clean Air Zone in the city centre in 2022. Renner-Thompson said he would remove it, which local authorities said the mayor would not be able to do. [4] The Reform UK candidate Paul Donaghy, Driscoll and McGuinness all criticised the model, saying that public transport was a better way of improving air quality. The Green Party candidate Andrew Gray and the Liberal Democrat candidate Aidan King both supported the use of Clean Air Zones. [10]
The Conservative UK government proposed using money that had been planned for High Speed 2 to re-open the Leamside line, estimated to cost close to £2 billion. They later said that the combined authority could fund it. Renner Thompson said that the suggested cost was far too high for "some metal rails on some gravel". Driscoll and McGuinness said they were seeking central government funding for the estimated £20 million cost of producing a business case to reopen the railway. [11]
Driscoll said he would work to achieve full employment in the region. McGuinness proposed a "mayoral development corporation to drive green energy investment in the North East's ports and rivers". Grey said he would improve housing installation. [4] King said he would "build the UK's largest on-shore wind farm", revenue from which would fund public transport investment, and buy low quality farmland in "every town and village" to build modern housing. [9] [12]
A film company proposed establishing a large film studio in the region contingent on public funding. McGuinness said that the UK government should supply the necessary funding, while Renner-Thompson said he would use combined authority funds to support the proposal. [13]
Tony Gillan in the Sunderland Echo highlighted that most of the candidates were from or closely associated with Newcastle rather than other parts of the region. [14]
Driscoll was endorsed by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. [15]
Jamie Driscoll, the mayor of the North of Tyne, left the Labour Party after being excluded from the party's selection of a North East mayoral candidate. [16] He will sit as an independent for the remainder of his term. [16] He said he would run as an independent candidate for the North East mayoralty if he could raise £25,000 in campaign funds, which he did in two hours. [17] Five Labour councillors resigned from their party to support Driscoll. [18]
Four candidates were nominated. Serving North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll. PCC Kim McGuinness. Former MEP Paul Brannen. Newcastle City Councillor Nicu Ion. [19]
Driscoll was elected to Newcastle City Council in 2018 to represent Monument ward. [20] Driscoll stood for selection to be Labour's candidate in the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election, defeating Newcastle council leader Nick Forbes in February 2019. [21] He ran as the more radical candidate after being supported by left-wing figures, including shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Noam Chomsky, Paul Mason, Clive Lewis and Laura Pidcock. He also had organisational support from Unite the Union, RMT, Fire Brigades Union, TSSA and Aslef. [22]
Driscoll ran on a platform with five primary pledges: Community Wealth Building, Green Industrial Revolution, Setting up Community Hubs, Building Affordable Homes, and Meaningful Adult Education, winning the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election with 56.1% of the vote. [23] [24] His role was due to be subsumed by the new North East mayoralty. [25]
McGuinness was elected Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner in 2019. She had served on Newcastle City Council since 2015. She said that everything she would fund as mayor would need to contribute to ending child poverty. [26] She also proposed a £1-per-night hotel levy to raise money to invest in culture and events. [27] She is considered to be aligned with Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.
Brannen served as an MEP for North East England from 2014 to 2019. He said he would use green industry to achieve full employment in the region. [28]
Nicu Ion is a maths teacher who was first elected to Newcastle City Council in 2021, becoming the first Roma migrant to be elected in the UK. [29]
In June 2023, Driscoll was barred from the selection process to determine a Labour Party candidate for Mayor of the North East. The controversial decision was defended by Starmer-ally Baroness Chapman of Darlington as "simply guaranteeing the highest quality candidates". Unite the Union and its general secretary, Sharon Graham, criticised the decision to exclude Driscoll. Andy Burnham, and Steve Rotheram described the Labour Party as undemocratic, opaque and unfair. Aditya Chakrabortty wrote in The Guardian that Driscoll was a "victim of McCarthyism". [25] [30] It was understood that the decision was based on appearing at an event with Ken Loach. [31] He later resigned from Labour and has since announced he will fight the 2024 North East mayoral election as an independent. [32]
Subsequently, 11 of 22 constituency Labour parties in the region refused to endorse any mayoral candidate in protest. [26]
Ion was not shortlisted, leaving members to choose between Brannen and McGuinness. [33] McGuinness won selection with 76% of the vote. However, the number of votes in the selection contest was never published, unlike the 2019 selection. A Labour source said under 50% of eligible party members voted. [26]
On 17 July 2023, Labour announced it had selected McGuinness as its candidate for mayor. [34]
Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Kim McGuinness | 76% | |
Paul Brannen | 24% |
Charlie Hoult, who was the Conservative candidate in the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election, said he would not seek his party's selection and that he hoped the candidates would be more diverse than in the 2019 election. [35] On 26 November 2023, it was announced that Guy Renner-Thompson, the children's and education chief for Northumberland County Council would be the Conservative Party candidate for the election. [36]
Aidan King, an NHS doctor at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, [37] former Newcastle City Councillor and candidate for the European Parliament, was selected as the Liberal Democrats candidate. [38] He was their candidate in Stockton North in the 2019 General Election.
Andrew Gray, an archivist at Durham University, was announced as the Green Party candidate in December 2023. [39]
Paul Donaghy, a councillor on Sunderland City Council, was announced as the Reform UK candidate in January 2024. [40] He had defected from the Conservative Party in 2023. [41]
Dates conducted | Pollster | Sample size | McGuinness Lab | Driscoll Ind | Donaghy Reform | Renner-Thompson Con | Gray Green | King Lib Dems | Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19–24 April 2024 | More in Common | 1,808 | 35% | 33% | 14% | 11% | 4% | 4% | 2 |
On 28 April, the campaign group More in Common released opinion polling placing McGuinness and Driscoll as the front runners, stating "a win from either candidate would be well within the margin of error."
They cited the 2019 Conservative vote fragmenting and Driscoll voters saying they are more likely to turn out than McGuinness voters as the cause of the independent vote, describing the race as a "dead heat." [42]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 185,051 | 41.3 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 126,652 | 28.2 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 52,446 | 11.7 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 41,147 | 9.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 25,485 | 5.7 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 17,631 | 3.9 | |
Majority | 58,399 | 13.0 | ||
Turnout | 448,412 | 31.0 | ||
Source: [43]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 43,084 | 45.0 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 25,074 | 26.2 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 11,627 | 12.1 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 9,679 | 10.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 3,907 | 4.1 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 2,396 | 2.5 | |
Majority | 18,010 | 18.8 | ||
Turnout | 95,767 | 24.7 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 21,994 | 44.3 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 12,438 | 25.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 4,696 | 9.5 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 4,421 | 8.9 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 4,041 | 8.1 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 2,013 | 4.1 | |
Majority | 9,556 | 19.3 | ||
Turnout | 49,603 | 34.7 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 26,429 | 37.5 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 25,018 | 35.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 6,778 | 9.6 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 5,012 | 7.1 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 3,671 | 5.2 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 3,653 | 5.2 | |
Majority | 1,411 | 2.0 | ||
Turnout | 70,561 | 37.4 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 27,992 | 38.0 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 22,736 | 30.9 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 14,289 | 19.4 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 4,437 | 6.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 2,587 | 3.5 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 1,638 | 2.2 | |
Majority | 5,256 | 7.1 | ||
Turnout | 73,679 | 29.3 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 24,858 | 42.4 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 18,325 | 31.2 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 7,874 | 13.4 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 3,667 | 6.2 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 2,173 | 3.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 1,795 | 3.1 | |
Majority | 6,533 | 11.1 | ||
Turnout | 58,962 | 37.1 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 13,225 | 36.2 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 12,052 | 33.0 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 3,939 | 10.8 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 3,727 | 10.2 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 2,566 | 7.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 995 | 2.7 | |
Majority | 1,173 | 3.2 | ||
Turnout | 36,504 | 32.3 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kim McGuinness | 27,469 | 43.2 | |
Reform UK | Paul Donaghy | 11,563 | 18.2 | |
Independent | Jamie Driscoll | 11,009 | 17.3 | |
Conservative | Guy Renner-Thompson | 7,037 | 11.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Aidan King | 4,727 | 7.4 | |
Green | Andrew Gray | 1,801 | 2.8 | |
Majority | 15,906 | 25.0 | ||
Turnout | 63,606 | 30.4 | ||
Newcastle upon Tyne North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Catherine McKinnell of the Labour Party.
Newcastle City Council is the local authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a metropolitan borough with city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It has been under Labour majority control since 2011. The council is a constituent member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
Dame Norma Redfearn is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of North Tyneside since 2013.
William McKeag MSM was a British politician, soldier and solicitor. His political affiliations changed over the years from Liberal to National Liberal, back to Liberal and finally to Conservative, but he never wavered from a fierce loyalty to his native North East of England and was described in his obituary in The Times as one of the North East's leading figures, a keen publicist for the area and for Tyneside in particular.
Catherine McKinnell is a British politician serving as Shadow Minister for Schools since 2023. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since 2010.
The North East Party (NEP) is a regionalist political party in North East England founded in 2014 by a group of 16 people including the former Labour MP; Hilton Dawson, and 7 members of the FAIR party. The party campaigns for a better deal for North East England generally and was committed to a devolved assembly in the North East with powers similar to those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if approved by a referendum. It says bodies such as the North East Combined Authority do not have a mandate to take on new responsibilities and representatives must be directly-elected. Dawson stepped down as Chair of the party in June 2016 and was replaced by John Tait. Dawson remained active in the party taking on the role of Secretary and Nominating Officer.
Nicholas Ian Forbes is a British politician who served as the Leader of the Labour Group of the Local Government Association from 2016 to 2022. He was Leader of Newcastle City Council from 2011 to 2022. In 2020, Forbes was appointed to Labour Leader Keir Starmer's Shadow Cabinet, serving until 2022
The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into being on 2 November 2018 under the statutory name Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority. The three local authorities previously formed part of the North East Combined Authority, which continued to exist covering a smaller area. The two combined authorities cooperated on the North East Joint Transport Committee.
The inaugural North of Tyne mayoral election was held on 2 May 2019 to elect the first Mayor of the North of Tyne. The area is made up of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland. Subsequent elections will be held every five years.
Jamie Driscoll is a British Independent politician who served as the metro mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority from 2019 to 2024. He was previously a councillor on Newcastle City Council for the Monument ward.
Cara Kim McGuinness is a British Labour Party politician who was elected as the Mayor of the North East in May 2024. Previously, she served as the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner between 2019 and 2024.
The Northern Independence Party (NIP) is a minor secessionist and democratic socialist party that seeks to make the region of Northern England an independent nation, under the name of Northumbria, after the medieval kingdom of the same name. The party, which was founded in October 2020 by the lecturer and former Labour activist Philip Proudfoot, currently has no elected representatives. It is led by David Heaven.
The 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024 to elect the mayor of Greater Manchester. The election took place on the same day as council elections within the city region, including the election for the mayor of Salford, as well as local elections across England and Wales.
The 2024 London mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024 to elect the next mayor of London. It took place simultaneously with elections to the London Assembly, some local council by-elections in London and regular local elections elsewhere in England and Wales. Following the Elections Act 2022, voting in this election took place under the first-past-the-post system for the first time, replacing the supplementary vote system. The results of the election were announced on 4 May 2024.
The 2022 Newcastle City Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 26 out of 78 — on Newcastle City Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
The North East Combined Authority (NECA) is a combined authority in North East England. NECA has a directly-elected Mayor and seven member councils; two county unitary authorities and five metropolitan boroughs.
The 2024 United Kingdom local elections took place on 2 May 2024 to choose around 2,600 councillors on 107 councils in England, 11 directly elected mayors in England, the 25 members of the London Assembly, and 37 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. The 2024 Blackpool South parliamentary by-election was held on the same day.
The 2024 East Midlands mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024 to elect the first mayor of the East Midlands. It was part of the local elections across England and Wales.
The 2024 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections held in the United Kingdom on the same day. All seats in all wards were up for election. Labour retained its majority on the council.