Labour could block Tess Valley Tory mayor after making gains in local elections
Labour has ramped up pressure on Tory Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, after making significant gains in the local elections.
The region’s association with flagship “Levelling Up” projects such as Teesside Freeport and moving Treasury jobs to Darlington has made Mr Houchen a symbol of the Conservatives’ demolition of the Red Wall.
But in recent years, Mr Houchen has had the support of Conservative or independent leaders of the five local authorities to spend money.
After Thursday’s election results, three of those authorities look likely to have a Labour leader, including Middlesbrough where Chris Cooke achieved a big swing to unseat independent Andy Preston.
It could mean Labour has the ability to block Mr Houchen’s decisions as mayor, something that has been muted by local leaders.
Henri Murison, director of lobby group the Northern Powerhouse Partnerhsip, told i: “This is a big shake up for Tees Valley.
“Up to four of the councils could soon have a Labour leader and the mayor faces a blocking majority. That means he will have to reach out across the political divide to try and build consensus.”
In a sign of the political tensions however, results did not all go Labour’s way with the Conservatives picking up a number of seats in Stockton-on-Tees to become the largest party.
Labour voters i spoke to in Middlesbrough were delighted with the election results.
John Whittaker, 71, said: “I can’t believe why anybody working class would vote Conservative.
“I hope it’s a shift back to Labour. We own our own business but I’ve always believed in looking after the working man.”
His wife, Lynn, added: “This was always a working class area, why it ever went ‘Red Wall’ Tory was beyond me.
“I’m not sure about Keir Starmer, he seems like a decent bloke, maybe we will see a different side to him if he becomes prime minister.
“I think it’s the mistakes the Tories have made that will decide the result.
“My friends went to hospital last night and it was nine hours waiting in A&E, seeing a GP is next to impossible.
“Our gas and electricity bill has gone from £100 a month to more than £300 and all these companies are making billions.
“The injustice is off the scale. We can pay it but there’s lots of people who can’t. People should be able to keep warm… and eat.”
Colin, a retired electrician, who also voted Labour, added: “I never went down that road [of voting Conservative], but I know a few idiots who did.
“I think for Labour the question is – what are they going to do with it? I think people are prepared to give them another chance.
“If we can get Teesworks going we can get things back in Middlesbrough. People just want normal things, they want jobs, they want a bit of money to go out for a pint, go for a holiday.
“I would like to see Labour stand up and deliver. It all comes down to money – they got to show they’ve got the area at heart and put it first and stop all these stupid arguments with each other.
“[Ben Houchen] is going to to have to face it all now, but he won’t answer questions will he?”
Not all voters are convinced Labour is on its way back to power.
David Kay, 68, from Middlesbrough, was furious that Labour regained the mayoralty.
“I think the Labour Party is full of communists, when I heard the news on the radio this morning I couldn’t believe it’,” said Mr Kay.
A former member of the Armed Forces, he voted for Boris Johnson in the 2019 election and is not happy that he was ousted as prime minister by the Conservatives.
“I would have liked him to stick around,” said Mr Kay, adding: “He was the only one to deal with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.”
But for Jonathan Brash, a Labour councillor in Hartlepool and the party’s prospective candidate for MP in the town, there is clearly “a significant shift going on” towards his party in the Tees Valley area.
“It’s clear that if we had those results in Hartlepool we would take the constituency back,” he told i.
“I think we can see real progress. People want a positive vision and in Hartlepool clearly they are responding to us.
“I think the main story is Labour making gains – I think the taking of the Middlesbrough mayoralty is a pretty stunning victory.”
Animosity between the Conservatives and Labour in Tees Valley has ratcheted up in recent years and Mr Brash promised to work with Mr Houchen in the combined authority.
But he said he believe voters are starting to believe that “levelling up” is a “falsehood”.
Asked whether Labour would block projects such as Teesside airport, as Mr Houchen has suggested, Mr Brash added: “We don’t want to undo what’s been done.
“Whatever’s been done we need to build on that and get to the heart of what really matters.
“The North East can be that engine of the UK economy again but it’s not going to happen off of a few piecemeal capital projects or a revamped shopping centre.
“Labour will absolutely push back on what we believe the priorities are, and I would certainly encourage Ben Houchen in that regard to grow up.
“We don’t want to fight with Conservatives in a party political way, I would hope he would recognise that and work collaboratively.
“But let me be very, very clear – as the Labour party regains councillors and MPs, as it will continue to do, if Ben Houchen feels unable to work with the people that the public are choosing I would suggest he retires from his current position.”
In response, Mr Houchen shared a letter with i he has already sent to the new Labour Mayor of Middlesbrough, Chris Cooke, congratulating him on his win.
But he added: “If Labour aren’t winning Middlesbrough, that’s been majority Labour since it was created in the 1970s, given the last 12 months of problems the Conservative Party has faced then they would forever be unelectable.
“Fundamentally it’s a distraction that Labour promises to romp home in Redcar, Stockton, Darlington and Hartlepool and all of those councils remain in no overall control.
“The local elections show the public are upset with the Conservative Party but they are yet to care, or fall back in love with the Labour Party.”
Local elections 2023
It’s been a tough day for the Tories, and you can follow all the latest news as local election results roll in, in our live-blog here, or check the results on our live map here.
The Tory blame game has begun, with many looking to the ‘damage’ done by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, while at least one Tory source blamed Rishi Sunak for the losses due to his ‘knifing’ of Boris Johnson. However, it’s unlikely Rishi Sunak will be panicking over the losses.
Labour is confident that the local election results show the party is on track to victory at the next general election, but here’s what the results actually mean for the UK. Keir Starmer knows Scotland is the key to a Labour majority – but he cannot rely on an SNP implosion.
In our Opinion section, the local election results show anti-Tory sentiment, not enthusiasm for Labour, says Andrew Fisher. The local elections show Keir Starmer was right to ditch Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto, writes Ayesha Hazarika.
