A former Tory candidate has ruled himself out of the running to become mayor of the North East.
Charlie Hoult has confirmed he will not be standing in the big election set to be held in 2024, following the announcement of a new £4.2bn devolution deal for the region last week. The businessman, who owns the Hoults Yard in Newcastle, finished as runner up to Labour’s Jamie Driscoll in the North of Tyne mayoral election in 2019.
But he says commercial commitments with growing software business Opencast mean he will not seek the Conservative Party’s nomination for the new mayoral job, which will cover a much bigger patch encompassing all of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham. Mr Hoult urged whoever does take on the role to be a vocal champion for the North East and to push for more powers and money to be clawed away from “Westminster’s dead hand of control”.
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He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We need someone who can make stuff happen, who can drive, lead, push, and mix it with Westminster. [Tees Valley mayor] Ben Houchen has done a fantastic job with that, he has been the pin-up for that sort of thing. We need someone who will fight for the region.”
Mr Hoult had based his 2019 campaign around a pledge of "projects not politics" and says that the North East mayor will need to find a “totemic project, a really iconic purpose for your mayoralty.” Having been part of an electoral field made up entirely of white men for the North of Tyne election, he is also keen to see greater diversity on the ballot paper in May 2024.
The Gosforth-born entrepreneur said: “There were five candidates in 2019 and all of them were white, middle-aged blokes. I would hope to support a range of candidates because the more people we have working towards the 2024 election the better served we are going to be as a region to get the debate up and raise the profile of the issues and the missions people want to achieve.”
He added: “The most important thing is that we have a good candidate who can lead the region towards greater devolution and pulling more stuff from Westminster’s dead hand of control. We need more autonomy in the region and more cash that we can spend as we choose.”
Mr Driscoll has already made clear that he will seek Labour’s nomination for the new mayor’s post. He is expected to face a battle with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, to be Labour’s candidate – an intriguing contest that would pit the Jeremy Corbyn-supporting mayor against someone seen as a rising star of the party under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The value of the North East devolution deal is being put at £4.2bn and has been touted as the most generous per head in England. It includes a £1.4bn investment fund to be delivered over 30 years, an indicative £60m a year budget for adult education and skills, and the power to bring the region’s bus network back into public control.
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