Jamie Driscoll: Mayor row not our doing, say Jewish residents

Mr Driscoll said he had been "overwhelmed" by the support given to him after he was excluded from Labour Party's NE mayoral list

A group of "concerned Jewish residents" have distanced themselves from the exclusion of a mayor from standing in the North East mayoral election.

North of Tyne Major Jamie Driscoll was barred from list of Labour candidates last week.

An open letter, signed by 12 people, says they do not want Jewish heritage "dragged into factional disputes".

It calls for the Labour party to state "unequivocally" the decision was not due to "the local Jewish community".

The exclusion of Mr Driscoll from the party's candidates has been linked to his onstage appearance with film director and expelled Labour member Ken Loach in Newcastle in March.

The open letter says Mr Driscoll "is not and has never been an anti-Semite".

It adds that any attempt to "smear his integrity" with "oblique references" to "alleged Jewish concerns" is inappropriate and may generate hostility against Jews.

Jamie Driscoll was elected North of Tyne mayor in 2019

Mr Driscoll, who has been a Labour member since 1985, has not ruled out taking legal action against the party.

Speaking to Politics North he said: "I think a lot of people, regardless of their politics, will say this is just not fair. All I'm asking for is for local people to make these decisions.

"At any point Labour's national executive committee can change their minds and start the progress again acknowledging they've been extremely heavy-handed.

"How is it that I'm good enough to be a mayor but I'm not good enough to be a candidate for mayor? The logic doesn't hold up."

Mr Driscoll added he had "overwhelming" support and interventions from trade unions, business leaders and grassroots members.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram have also criticised the decision.

The new North East mayoral post will cover Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham with powers over transport, housing and skills.

Labour has declined to comment on the open letter.

Instead, a party spokesperson said: "The Labour party holds its candidates to a very high standard. During this process, some applicants did not meet the threshold required to proceed to the longlisting/shortlisting stage.

"We do not comment on individual applications."