2017 Tees Valley mayoral election

Last updated

2017 Tees Valley mayoral election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
4 May 2017 2021  
Turnout21.3%
  Ben Houchen in York (cropped).jpg
Candidate Ben Houchen Sue Jeffrey
Party Conservative Labour Co-op
1st Round vote40,27839,797
Percentage39.5%39.0%
2nd Round vote48,57846,400
Percentage51.1%48.9%

 
CandidateChris Foote WoodJohn Tennant
Party Liberal Democrats UKIP
1st Round vote12,5509,475
Percentage12.3%9.3%
2nd Round voteEliminatedEliminated
PercentageEliminatedEliminated

2017 Tees Valley Mayoral election, 2nd round.svg
2017 Tees Valley Mayoral election, 1st round.svg

Mayor before election

Position established
Leader of the Tees Valley Combined Authority

Contents

Mayor

Ben Houchen
Conservative

The inaugural Tees Valley mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the mayor of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The mayor was elected by the supplementary vote system. Subsequent elections will be held in May 2021 and every four years after 2024. [1] [2]

North East England was considered a Labour stronghold and prior to the election, the Labour candidate Sue Jeffrey was considered the overwhelming favourite. [3] The eventual victory of the Conservative candidate Ben Houchen was reported as a shock and a poor result for Labour following their losses in the local elections that same day. [4]

Background

Following a devolution deal between the UK government and the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), it was agreed to introduce a directly-elected mayor for the combined authority, with an initial election to be held in May 2017. The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 required a directly-elected metro mayor for combined authorities to receive additional powers from central government. [5]

Candidates

Conservative Party

Ben Houchen, Conservative group leader on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. [6] [7]

Labour Party

Sue Jeffrey, Redcar and Cleveland Council leader. [8] [9]

Liberal Democrats

Chris Foote Wood, author and former Bishop Auckland district councillor, was selected to be the Liberal Democrat candidate after defeating Anne-Marie Curry, Liberal Democrat group leader on Darlington Borough Council, in a ballot of party members. [10] [11]

North East Party

John Tait, former Parliamentary candidate in Stockton North, withdrew from the race after failing to raise the required £5,000 deposit. [12]

UK Independence

John Tennant, UKIP group leader on Hartlepool Borough Council. [13]

Results

Overall

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 [14] [15]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Conservative Ben Houchen40,27839.5%8,30048,57851.1%
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey39,79739.0%6,60346,40048.9%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood12,55012.3%
UKIP John Tennant9,4759.3%
Turnout 103,76721.3%

By local authority

Darlington

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Darlington) [16]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Conservative Ben Houchen7,15541.9%1,7088,86356.2%
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey5,57132.7%1,3436,91443.8%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood3,39519.9%
UKIP John Tennant9385.5%
Turnout 17,059

Hartlepool

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Hartlepool) [16]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey4,24235.2%1,2505,49253.2%
UKIP John Tennant3,48628.9%
Conservative Ben Houchen3,23326.8%1,6074,84046.8%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood1,1029.1%
Turnout 12,063

Middlesbrough

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Middlesbrough) [16]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey8,47047.5%9699,43955.9%
Conservative Ben Houchen6,22334.9%1,2107,43344.1%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood1,88710.6%
UKIP John Tennant1,24310.6%
Turnout 17,823

Redcar and Cleveland

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Redcar and Cleveland) [16]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey9,47144.4%1,18910,66053.7%
Conservative Ben Houchen7,55535.4%1,6289,18346.3%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood2,74012.8%
UKIP John Tennant1,5767.4%
Turnout 21,342

Stockton-on-Tees

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Stockton-on-Tees) [16]
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
TotalOf roundTransfersTotalOf round
Conservative Ben Houchen16,11247.7%2,14718,25956.8%
Labour Co-op Sue Jeffrey12,04335.6%1,85213,89543.2%
Liberal Democrats Chris Foote Wood3,42610.1%
UKIP John Tennant2,2326.6%
Turnout 33,813

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References

  1. "The Tees Valley Combined Authority (Election of Mayor) Order 2016". Legislation.gov.uk. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  2. "Date Set For First Tees Valley Mayoral Election - Tees Valley Combined Authority". Teesvalley-ca.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  3. Jonn Elledge (27 April 2017). "Who will be mayor of the Tees Valley?". CityMetric – New Statesman. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  4. Felicity Collinson (5 May 2017). "What are the nationals saying about the shock result at the Tees mayoral election?". Teesside Gazette. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  5. "Everything you need to know about metro mayors: an FAQ". Centre for Cities. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  6. "Ben Houchen (@BenHouchen) - Twitter". twitter.com.
  7. "Ben Houchen chosen to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Tees Valley - Conservative Home".
  8. Brown, Mike (31 October 2016). "Sue Jeffrey intends to stand for 'Teesside Metro Mayor'". gazettelive. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  9. "Labour North on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  10. Keane Duncan (23 February 2017). "Liberal Democrats select 'veteran campaigner' as Tees mayor candidate". GazetteLive. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  11. "Brother of comedian Victoria Wood set to stand for Teesside Mayor". Hartlepool Mail. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  12. Julia Breen (24 March 2017). "Tees Valley Mayoral candidate John Tait, of the North East Party, pulls out of race". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  13. "David Macmillan on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  14. "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Darlington Borough Council. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  15. Jonn Elledge (5 May 2017). "Liveblog: What is happening with England's metro mayoral elections?". City Metric.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Certificate of Verification: Tees Valley Mayoral Election, Thursday 4 May 2017" (PDF). Stockton-on Tees Borough Council.