Tees Valley Mayor: What's the role and who's running?
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On 2 May voters will have their chance to choose the Tees Valley mayor, a role that was created in 2017.
It is currently held by Conservative Ben Houchen who was the first in the role and was re-elected in May 2021.
The mayor represents 670,000 people in five local authorities: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
The councils are in charge of running services, while the mayor focuses on areas such as economic development.
What is the mayor in charge of?
The councils in the five areas still look after day-to-day services, but their leaders do sit in a Tees Valley Combined Authority cabinet alongside the mayor and they play a part in decision-making.
The mayor has no responsibility for the services councils traditionally provide, but instead concentrates on areas that have been devolved from central government.
These include economic development, transport, skills and adult training, regeneration, culture and tourism.
The mayor controls local transport funding in liaison with the councils.
The role also includes overseeing a ten-year investment plan that has been valued at £588m, partly funded from an investment pot of around £15m a year the area is receiving over the next 30 years.
The mayor also oversees three development commissions in charge of regeneration - one covering the former Redcar steelworks site and two others focusing on the town centres of Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.
Other responsibilities include being in charge of the freeport site which includes the former steelworks, offering tax breaks for businesses.
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Who is the current Mayor?
Conservative Ben Houchen holds the job. He narrowly won the first election in 2017, and then romped home with 73% of the vote in 2021.
He is now Lord Houchen after being made a peer in Boris Johnson's resignation honours last year.
Who is competing for the job this time?
Here are the candidates in alphabetic order:
Ben Houchen is the Conservative Party candidate. You can read more about Mr Houchen here.
Chris McEwan is the Labour Party candidate. You can read more about Mr McEwan here.
Simon Thorley is the Liberal Democrat candidate. You can read more about Mr Thorley here.
How will the election work?
Any registered voter in the five council areas will be able to cast a vote.
This time, the election will be held under the same first-past-the-post rules as is used to elect MPs.
The winner will be the candidate who gains the most votes.
What are the issues likely to be?
Ben Houchen's record will be at the heart of this campaign. The mayor said he had delivered during both his terms by creating jobs and attracting investment into the area.
He also made good on his initial pledge to take public control of Teesside Airport and has added flights. He said the freeport he oversees has been shown to be the most successful of its kind in the country.
His rivals, though ,are not convinced. Labour's Chris McEwan has criticised a lack of transparency and accountability and is campaigning as a "mayor you can trust."
Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley said the mayor has failed to tackle rising rates of poverty, focusing on developments which make headlines, but do not deliver enough for ordinary people.
What's all this about Teesworks?
The run-in to the election has included months of controversy about the regeneration of the site of Redcar's former steelworks.
Teesworks is a private-public joint venture formed by the mayor, the combined authority and two local businessmen.
Its aim was to attract jobs and investment into what is one of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe.
The private businesses own 90% of the shares in Teesworks, with the remaining 10% in the hands of the public sector South Tees Development Corporation.
The Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove commissioned an investigation after allegations of "corruption" were made in parliament by Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald.
The local government experts brought in did not find any evidence for that or wrongdoing.
They did, though, make 28 recommendations for improvements they thought were needed covering governance, transparency and value for money.
Could that be an election issue?
Definitely.
He said the deal with the private businessmen had speeded up redevelopment and was a key part of ensuring the site is successful.
But Labour's Chris McEwan said he would "open the books" and support a new investigation by the National Audit Office.
Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley said he would look to renegotiate the deal with the two businessmen to secure what he believes would be a better deal for the taxpayer.
What else is likely to dominate the campaign?
Transport is a key issue, as it is one area where the mayor has significant money to spend, particularly as the government said it will divert resources from the cancellation of the HS2 Manchester link to mayoral authorities.
Ben Houchen has pledged to use that cash for a series of big ticket investments, including new roads, railway stations and services.
Labour's Chris McEwan has also pledged to reintroduce some free parking in the area's town centres.
Lib Dem Simon Thorley wants a London-style Oyster card to make travelling on buses and trains easier.
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