The candidates in the fight to become the first North East mayor clashed over childcare support and transport investment, a month ahead of the historic election. 

Four weeks before voters go to the polls on May 2 to choose a new political figurehead for the region, five of the hopefuls vying for the top job went head-to-head in a Newcastle debate.

Conservative Guy-Renner Thompson, independent Jamie Driscoll, Labour’s Kim McGuinness, Liberal Democrat Aidan King, and the Green Party’s Andrew Gray answered questions sent in by the North East public, in a hustings debate chaired by Rob Parsons of the Northern Agenda newsletter and podcast.

Reform UK candidate Paul Donaghy was unable to attend due to a work commitment.

The hour-long debate saw the political rivals set out their visions on what they want to deliver for a population of two million people across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Durham.

Their biggest confrontation came when Ms McGuinness, who is currently the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, accused the other candidates of having failed to address a question about how they would combat the North East’s “appalling” child poverty rates and what their plans are to provide childcare support that could help more parents get back into employment.

The Labour candidate, who has pledged to provide childcare grants for people getting back into work or training, said: “I am the only woman standing in this election and I think that is a crying shame.

“Women are held back, predominantly women, from the labour market because of inaccessible childcare – it is too expensive. They have to stay at home and look after children or take on social caring roles. 

“None of you directly answered that question, none of you are talking about what you will do to improve prospects for women.”

Mr Gray called the remarks a “very fair challenge” and also pointed out an “age and colour similarity” among the field of candidates.

The candidates in the fight to become the first North East mayor clashed over childcare support and transport investment, a month ahead of the historic election. 

Four weeks before voters go to the polls on May 2 to choose a new political figurehead for the region, five of the hopefuls vying for the top job went head-to-head in a debate in Newcastle. 

Conservative Guy-Renner Thompson, independent Jamie Driscoll, Labour’s Kim McGuinness, Liberal Democrat Aidan King, and the Green Party’s Andrew Gray answered questions sent in by the North East public, in a hustings debate chaired by Rob Parsons of the Northern Agenda newsletter and podcast.

Reform UK candidate Paul Donaghy was unable to attend due to a work commitment.

The hour-long debate saw the political rivals set out their visions on what they want to deliver for a population of two million people across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Durham.

Their biggest confrontation came when Ms McGuinness, who is currently the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, accused the other candidates of having failed to address a question about how they would combat the North East’s “appalling” child poverty rates and what their plans are to provide childcare support that could help more parents get back into employment.

The Labour candidate, who has pledged to provide childcare grants for people getting back into work or training, said: “I am the only woman standing in this election and I think that is a crying shame.

“Women are held back, predominantly women, from the labour market because of inaccessible childcare – it is too expensive. They have to stay at home and look after children or take on social caring roles. 

“None of you directly answered that question, none of you are talking about what you will do to improve prospects for women.”

Mr Gray called the remarks a “very fair challenge” and also pointed out an “age and colour similarity” among the field of candidates.

Mr Renner-Thompson, who is a councillor in Northumberland, agreed that childcare costs were a “huge issue” and promoted the Government’s pledge to provide parents with up to 30 hours of free childcare.

The Tory candidate added that part of the new mayor’s task would be to help drive the recruitment of more nursery staff to ensure that care can be delivered, while he had earlier spoken about funding organisations like Citizens Advice to help more people claim the benefits they are entitled to.

Mr Driscoll, the sitting North of Tyne Mayor who quit Labour last year to become an independent, replied: “Childcare is a huge problem. Predominantly for women, but not just women – I rowed back from my career and looked after the kids while my wife was developing her career as a medic. 

“If we look at what has happened over the past five years [in the North of Tyne], we have increased the training courses women have attended from 10,000 per year to 19,000 per year. We did it by making them free and flexible so that they work around people’s caring commitments and part-time hours commitments.”

Mr Driscoll also highlighted a North of Tyne child poverty prevention programme run in schools, which is set to be expanded to areas south of the river as well under the larger mayoralty.

All five candidates pledged that they would impose no council tax rise to generate extra money for the mayor to spend and also promised to spread their work across all parts of the region to ensure both urban and rural communities benefit from the multi-billion pound devolution deal.

There are three former Newcastle councillors in the field of candidates, plus a further two who are from the city, and the risk of a mayor becoming too centralised has long been a fear of devolution sceptics in the region.

The candidates talked up the prospect of giving grants to rural businesses or community projects, while the Lib Dem hopeful pledged to put more power in the hands of parish councils to purchase land for new housing developments.

Dr King, a physician at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, has made building Europe’s onshore wind farm on a patch of land between Newton Aycliffe, Barnard Castle, and Northumberland National Park the centrepiece of his campaign.

He admitted that most of the affected communities would be unaware of the vast scale of what he is proposing and said consultation with them would be “first on my list” if he was elected.

Promises to radically overhaul the North East’s transport network have also been a hot topic of the campaign, with the new mayor having the power to take control of the region’s privatised bus network.

There have been a wide range of questions put to the candidates on their transport visions – ranging from the Space for Gosforth campaign group asking what commitments the they will make to improve walking and cycling infrastructure to, at the opposite end of the spectrum, a request for the Tyne Tunnel to be made free to drive through.

Mr Driscoll, Ms McGuinness, and Mr Gray have all committed to launching a bus franchise model and integrating public transport fares across all modes of travel, so that passengers can switch between buses and trains on a single ticket.

The independent candidate also spoke of his plans to make public transport free for everyone 18 and under or in full-time education.

Ms McGuinness also said that the mayor would “need to consider the future of the Tyne Tunnel”, while both she and Dr King highlighted the importance of reopening the Leamside railway line.

Mr Gray, a university archivist, described himself as a “strong believer in 15-minute neighbourhoods” so that people can access all the services they need close to home.

The Green candidate added that he was not a believer in a “top-down” mayoral government focusing on large projects, promising to strengthen grassroots communities instead – with his main pledge being a mass home insulation programme.

Mr Renner-Thompson has been keen to push his car-friendly credentials and told his rivals that the majority of travel in the North East is still done by car, saying the mayor needed to invest in projects such as upgrades to the congested Moor Farm Roundabout on the A19.

He also called for changes to the East Coast Main Line to put greater priority on commuter services between local stations, rather than fast services between London, Newcastle, and Edinburgh.

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The candidates also addressed questions about the region’s culture, how they will promote the North East to overseas investors, and how they envision their first 100 days in office.

While Mr Donaghy, who is a Sunderland councillor, could not attend the hustings, he provided a recorded message saying that people “want an alternative to the failed two-party system” and that he would “not be held to ransom by any political agenda or political party, especially not by the unions”.

He also promised to deliver a “new wave of social housing” and invest in youth services.