North East Mayor elections: Who is Andrew Gray?

Andrew Gray is running as the Green 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.

Andrew Gray is the Green Party candidate

He currently works as an archivist at Durham University and has previously stood for the Greens in local council and parliamentary elections. Mr Gray, 56, was born in Newcastle and raised in Northumberland. For the last twenty years he has lived in Newcastle and used public transport to commute to work, he said.

He says his number one priority is to insulate cold homes

He has pledged to invest in the area

Mr Gray says he will put money into communities and local businesses to build resilience.

He says he is 'determined' to find solutions

When we asked what makes him the best person for the job, he said he would work across the board to find local solutions when problems arise, not just blame others.

He says climate change is the biggest challenge facing the area

Mr Gray said climate change is impacting food supply, agriculture, housing and infrastructure in the region.

He loves the 'collective spirit' of the North East

When we asked what he loved about the region he said: "The collective spirit that gave us places like the Pitman's Parliament in Durham."