Conservative Ben Houchen wins third term as Tees Valley mayor despite Labour swing

Conservative Lord Houchen received 81,930 votes compared to Labour’s Chris McEwan who received 63,141 and Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley’s 7,679.

It’s a massive cut in vote share for an incumbent mayor who received 73 per cent of the vote in 2021. On formal declaration of the result Lord Houchen said it had been “a very difficult few months, it has been a really hard campaign.”

Paying tribute to his wife, he added, “There has been a lot of spotlight on this election which brings a level of intensity, but having Rachel as an absolute rock by my side, I absolutely could not do without her.”

The news will be a boost for under pressure prime minister Rishi Sunak, after speculation a Conservative loss in both Teesside and the West Midlands mayoral election, where incumbent Conservative Andy Street was hoping for re-election, may have resulted in a leadership challenge.

Asked whether he could work with Sir Keir Starmer as PM, he said: “Absolutely. Keir Starmer’s come out and said he’s going to double down on devolution, which is a huge change, a 180 from what Labour did in 2019 when they were talking about abolishing mayors, now Keir Starmer’s saying he’s going to give us more money and more powers.

“Which gives me more autonomy to get on and do what I do best which is deliver for local people.”

Lord Houchen had been criticised for distancing himself from his party during his campaign, something he denied.

“The idea that we are trying to pretend I’m not Conservative, I mean people know round here that I’m a Conservative, but thankfully what we’ve seen today is they also know that I’m a Teessider, and I’ll put Teesside first, I’ll put local people first and I’ll do what’s best for the local area,” he said.

As each local authority area’s official result was announced throughout the morning, it became clear Lord Houchen would likely win a third term in office when the result for Middlesbrough, a traditional Labour stronghold, was announced. Lord Houchen received 48 per cent of the vote in the town compared to Mr McEwan’s 47.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post after his defeat, Mr McEwan celebrated the progress made by the Labour Party in the region during the campaign.

“We achieved a 17 per cent swing here,” he said “If you look at it I was fighting incumbency, and somebody who was labelled as an independent.

“So from that perspective, I think this is hugely promising, and it shows if there were a general election tomorrow we’d get a clean sweep across the Tees Valley of Labour MPs. I would support Keir Starmer in his call for a general election.”

A Labour spokesperson added: “The Conservatives should be extremely worried that their candidate had to run as an independent to win.

“If Rishi Sunak doesn’t take this result as a major wake-up call he is in denial.”