Jamie Driscoll: Mayor to run against Labour for North East role

Jamie Driscoll began an online fundraiser to stand for the new role of North East mayor and raised £25,000 in two hours

North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll is to run as an independent in next year's inaugural election of a mayor for the North East of England.

He quit the Labour party on Monday with a scathing letter to its leader, Sir Keir Starmer.

In June, it was announced that he had not made Labour's shortlist of three candidates for the mayoral role.

Mr Driscoll set up an online fundraiser to test the level of support for him, it has since raised more than £81,000.

He had declared he needed £150,000 to run his election campaign and raised £25,000 in two hours, which he described as "amazing".

In his resignation letter, he claimed Labour was being run too centrally and claimed millions of people "want decisions made closer to home and not by people who are controlled by party HQs in London".

The left-leaning mayor has vowed to continue in his current role as an independent.

On his crowdfunding page Mr Driscoll said: "The cry for me to stand [in the election] as an independent has become louder and louder.

"From business leaders, community workers, trade unionists and people from every political party. They say the North East needs an experienced independent voice.

"As an independent I won't have a national press office behind me, or big money donors. So I'll need to get the message out to the people."

Mr Driscoll made his announcement moments after Labour said it had selected Kim McGuinness as its candidate for North East mayor

Mr Driscoll, who was elected in 2019, announced his resignation from Labour moments after it was revealed the party had selected Kim McGuinness as its candidate for North East mayor.

Ms McGuinness, 38, is the current Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner.

Mr Driscoll said if he was to become North East mayor, he would deliver a better transport network, create jobs and deliver a Green New Deal.

Labour's announcement in June that he had been excluded from the regional mayoral contest prompted a backlash.

A senior Labour source linked the decision to his sharing a stage with filmmaker Ken Loach, who was expelled from the party in a drive to eliminate antisemitism.

But figures on Labour's left blamed his exclusion on "factionalism" under Sir Keir's leadership.

In response to Mr Driscoll's exit, a Labour spokesperson said Sir Keir was leading a "changed party" focussed on "delivering for working people."