North East Mayor elections: Who is Kim McGuinness?

Kim McGuinness is running as the Labour Party candidate for North East Mayor

Voters will elect the first ever North East mayor on 2 May.

The winner will represent two million people living in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham and will get powers and funding from Westminster to make decisions locally.

Kim McGuinness is the Labour Party candidate

She is also the current Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and is not running again for the position in May. Ms McGuinness, 38, grew up in the West End of Newcastle and now lives in Northumberland with her husband who is a serving RAF officer. Her selection as the candidate followed controversy when Labour's current elected North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, failed to make the party's final selection.

Her top priority is fighting child poverty

She says the region needs good local jobs, cheaper public transport and better housing to do that.

She has promised to 'turbocharge' job creation

She says she wants to make the north east of England the "home of real opportunity", with jobs investment at every level - from saving the local high street to green manufacturing roles at riversides.

She says her pride in the North East makes her the best person for the job

Ms McGuinness said: "A mayor should be a champion of all that’s great about this region and it’s time we had someone prepared to stand up for us as mayor."

She says the biggest challenge for the region is 'reversing Tory austerity'

Ms McGuinness says the North East has been hit the hardest by government cuts and that public services urgently need to be rebuilt.

She loves the people who call the North East home

"We’re the friendliest region in the country, and our strong local identities all contribute to making this such a proud place to be from," she said.