Election in May one step closer after North East 'trailblazer' devolution deal is signed

The region’s political leaders gathered next to Durham Cathedral to put pen to paper on the £100million-plus add-on to the historic deal that will see a new North East mayor elected in May.

The North East becomes just the third region in England, following Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, to be given the “deeper” devolution powers.

Seven councils across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham signed a multi-billion pound devolution settlement with the Government last year, agreeing to establish a new North East Mayoral Combined Authority and mend a political split between areas on either side of the Tyne.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his Budget earlier this month that the region would receive a further transfer of powers and funding under the new trailblazer.

Speaking at the deal signing at Durham University’ St Chad’s College, North Tyneside’s elected mayor Dame Norma Redfearn said the long-awaited delivery of a devolution deal for the whole of the North East would mean “everyone can realise that the North doesn’t end at the M62”.

Glen Sanderson, the Conservative leader of Northumberland County Council, praised the “extraordinary” cross-party consensus that delivered the devolution deal and said it would “speed up tackling inequalities, and bring new jobs, new opportunity, and new confidence”.

Levelling Up minister Jacob Young added that the region had for too long been “overlooked, undervalued, and lacking the power it needs to shape its own future”.

Speaking to the media afterwards, he said: “Devolution is about taking back control. In the North East we have been on this journey for some time. It is 20 years this year since John Prescott tried to push a regional assembly on us here in the North East and now we have finally settled on a deal that works for people here, that isn’t just about powers but is about listening to the communities on the ground, hearing what they have to say, and allowing them to take their ideas forward.

“I think this is a real opportunity for the North East to have a really loud voice on the national stage championing their issues.”

The region’s initial devolution deal, which will give the new mayor powers over areas including transport and the creation of mayoral development corporations, is expected to receive its final ratification in Parliament this week – paving the way for an election to be held on May 2.

Durham County Council leader Amanda Hopgood, whose local authority was the last to sign up to the devolution deal during protracted negotiations in 2022, said that the signing of the trailblazer in the city “demonstrates just how far we have come”.

After a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last Friday warned that the Government was “unable to provide any compelling examples of what Levelling Up funding has delivered so far”, Coun Hopgood said she hoped devolution would bring clear improvements across the North East.

The Liberal Democrat, whose coalition administration spent more than £1million on failed bids to the Levelling Up Fund, added: “It is really important because of what went wrong with the Levelling Up bids across the country.

“Let’s learn from what has maybe not been very well-managed or run and look to the future.”