Why I'm Standing

I’m standing to be mayor of the North East because I believe that together we can reclaim our ambition, build on our proud heritage and create a region known as the home of opportunity.

 

Our region has been hardest hit by Tory austerity and now faces the devastating

cost-of-living-crisis and the highest child poverty rates in the country.

 

But we’ve been through this before and we know the solutions. 

 

This region and a Labour Government gave my family and thousands of others what we needed to escape hardship and succeed. I will be the campaigning Labour mayor who gives working class people this opportunity once again.

 

As mayor I’ll bring a relentless focus on creating skilled jobs for everyone, introducing climate solutions beyond net zero, ending child poverty, investing in young adults to prevent crime and delivering a publicly-owned transport system.

 

We don’t have time for ideological experiments and we can’t continue in the shadow of Manchester and Leeds.

 

We are unashamedly proud of our region and have always succeeded against the odds. 

 

I have delivered for this region as Police Commissioner and I’ll build on that record as mayor - let’s give our North East the voice it needs and the opportunities we all deserve.