Jamie Driscoll, the North of Tyne Mayor, who is standing as an independent candidate at the coming North East mayoral election, paid a visit to Ferryhill last weekend.
The mayor took questions from a crowd of around forty members of the community, who grilled him on his plans for Ferryhill should he be successfully returned at the election on 2 May.
Standing in front of the former Eldon Arms, in view of passing East Coast mainline trains, Mayor Driscoll responded to questions about the potential opening of the Leamside Line: “At the moment there is only one railway line opening anywhere in this country,” he said, “and that’s between Ashington, Blyth and Newcastle.
“I have been able to work successfully in partnership to fund that line and to transform Ashington town centre – a town with very similar problems to Ferryhill – and there’s the opportunity to do exactly the same here with the Leamside Line.
“And it’s not just about the railway line,” he added, “we have also worked with local businesses to make them more viable by helping them to do things like sell on the internet, which in turn brings in the additional revenue that helps their high street shop remain open.”
While acknowledging the work of others to press the case, including Sedgefield MP, Paul Howell, he admitted that that line would take two mayoral terms to be built, given the scale of the project: “We signed off the funding for the business case a couple of weeks ago with the transport minister,” he said, “and while it won’t be built within a four year term, what has there been in the last thirty years? So getting this line built in less than ten years will be a great success and will be just one part of the integrated work we will be doing within the transport network.”
Driscoll says that his plan includes bringing the north east bus network back into public ownership as part of a fully integrated transport network which includes free bus travel for under 18s and anyone in education, a capped season ticket and a single ticket across bus, rail and metro.
“We have already made a deal with the Chancellor’s office which is worth £6.1bn,” he said, “and I have worked hard to get County Durham into the deal when other politicians wanted to freeze Durham out.”
Driscoll spoke to his record of creating over 5,000 new jobs from a government target of 1,600 within his term of office by funding companies directly, while the business in turn repays the investment once it has grown.
“This approach has allowed us to use the same money over and over to help even more businesses to grow and employ more staff,” he said.
“We have done this alongside the provision of free, flexible training courses,” he added, “so that people can learn new skills, such are maintaining electrical vehicles and installing air source heat pumps, which are real jobs with a real need.”
“And they can do these courses while working around existing shifts, or their caring responsibilities, allowing them to skill up and find good, well-paid jobs.”
On the poverty crisis, he pointed to an innovative child poverty prevention programme, now running in over 100 schools and scheduled to roll out across the new North East mayoral region, including County Durham, from next September.
When asked if all the investment would go to Tyneside, he pointed to his record of handing budgets directly to communities in rural Northumberland.
“If a local community has an idea and can show widespread local support, I’ll fund up to 90% of it,” he said, giving examples of community kitchens, play gardens and local arts festivals.
“During my term as North of Tyne Mayor, I have not raised any money from council tax, preferring to lever it in from central government and private investment,” he added.
Asked what separated him from any of the other candidates, he replied: “I’m here, talking to you for one, which can’t be underestimated.
“But you do have a choice between someone who will turn up, listen to you and answer all your questions.
“And equally, you don’t have to take me on my word here, you can look at my track record. Because what someone does when they are in power, is the biggest predictor for what they are going to do in future.”
A former Labour mayor, Driscoll left the party when the Labour national party refused to include him on the longlist, a move which provoked widespread criticism in the region, causing many local party units to refuse to nominate any candidate. He now runs his office as an independent.
Asked if he would return to the party if he won the election and was invited back, his answer was an emphatic, “No.”
“You can’t run as an independent and then join another party. It’s about integrity,” he said, adding, “I’ve never taken a penny in expenses or hospitality.
“The only reason I went for Labour Mayor,” he revealed, “was when I read the job description, there was no whip for mayors.
“That meant I was free to make my own decisions, but actually, the main reason I was blocked from standing again under Labour was exactly because I was independent rather than towing the party line at times.
“However, I’m quite proud at sticking by my principles.”
The North East Mayoral election takes place on Thursday 2 May. There are six candidates declared, with Driscoll the incumbent mayor in what will become an enlarged North East Mayoral Combined Authority consisting of seven member councils: County Durham and Northumberland alongside the metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Ferryhill & Chilton's local community newspaper.
