Jamie Driscoll

Jamie Driscoll is a British Independent politician who currently serves as the metro mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority. He was previously a councillor on Newcastle City Council for the Monument ward.

Mayor
Jamie Driscoll
Driscoll in 2021
Mayor of the North of Tyne
Assumed office
6 May 2019
Preceded byNorma Redfearn (as interim mayor)
Councillor for Monument
In office
3 May 2018 – 2 May 2019
Personal details
Born1970
Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Labour (until June 2023)

Early life

Driscoll was born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire in 1970.[1][2] His father was a tank driver in the British army before becoming a shift worker at Imperial Chemical Industries, while his mother trained to be a youth worker. He states that his politics is influenced by his mother. He has three siblings: an older brother who served in the Royal Navy; a sister who was a healthcare assistant for the NHS; and a younger brother Jon, who is a football commentator, podcaster and author of The Fifty: Football's Most Influential Players, and Get it Kicked! The Battle for the Soul of English Football. Driscoll left school at 16. During this time, he was training as an engineer making breathing apparatus. Driscoll decided to go to university later on, studying engineering at Northumbria University.[3]

Early career

After university, Driscoll worked as a project engineer and later became the manager and company director for a software development firm.[2]

Political career

Driscoll was elected to Newcastle City Council in 2018 to represent Monument ward. He was a member of the campaigning group Momentum.[2][4] Driscoll is a member of Unite the Union (he joined Transport and General Workers' Union in 1986, before the merger with Amicus) and Tyne & Wear Anti-Fascist Association.

Mayor of North of Tyne

Driscoll stood for selection to be Labour's candidate in the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election, defeating Newcastle council leader Nick Forbes in February 2019.[5] He ran as the more radical candidate after being supported by left-wing figures, including shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Noam Chomsky, Paul Mason, Clive Lewis and Laura Pidcock. He also had organisational support from Unite the Union, Momentum, RMT, Fire Brigades Union, TSSA and Aslef.[6][7]

Driscoll ran on a platform with five primary pledges:[8]

  1. Community Wealth Building
  2. Green Industrial Revolution
  3. Setting up Community Hubs
  4. Build Affordable Homes
  5. Meaningful Adult Education

Driscoll won the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election with 56.1% of the vote.[9] Upon taking office, he became entitled to the style of Mayor.

Driscoll called a climate emergency on the day he was elected.[10] In August 2019, he told journalists that, despite the combined authority still needing to find its feet, he was pleased with the progress the authority had made in its first 100 days.[11] Since then, he has invested in the economy to create over 5000 jobs,[12] and safeguarded 3277 more,[12] funded a non-coercive Working Homes programme to empower social housing residents with new skills, launched a Climate Change teachers programme partnering with the United Nations and put money into rural broadband infrastructure. He has also funded organisations like Kielder Observatory to get more children into STEM subjects, and funded a youth outreach project in collaboration with Newcastle United F.C.[13]

Driscoll campaigned on his desire for all seven North East local authorities to come together to reform the original North East Combined Authority, made up of Northumberland County Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council and Durham County Council. In December 2022, it was announced that Driscoll has succeeded in his ambition, spearheading the formation of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.[14]

In June 2023, Driscoll was barred from the selection process to determine a Labour Party candidate for Mayor of the North East. The decision was defended by Starmer-ally Baroness Chapman of Darlington as "simply guaranteeing the highest quality candidates". Unite the Union and its general secretary, Sharon Graham, criticised the decision to exclude Driscoll. Andy Burnham, and Steve Rotheram described the Labour Party as undemocratic, opaque and unfair. Aditya Chakrabortty wrote in The Guardian that Driscoll was a "victim of McCarthyism".[15][16][17] He resigned from Labour and has since announced he will fight the 2024 North East mayoral election as an independent.[18]

Personal life

Driscoll lives with his two children, whom he home educated from a young age, and his wife, an NHS doctor.

Driscoll is also a black belt in jiu-jitsu, which he taught pro bono for 25 years, and a White Ribbon Ambassador.[19]

Previously, he drove a Land Rover Defender, but sold it in 2021, and relies on cycling and public transport to commute.[15]

References
  1. "The Teessider now running Tyneside – who could be the UK's most powerful Corbynista". GazetteLive. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  2. Seddon, Sean (20 February 2019). "Who is Jamie Driscoll? Labour's left-wing North of Tyne mayoral candidate". nechronicle. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  3. Seddon, Sean (24 April 2019). "'This isn't radical': Labour's North of Tyne mayoral candidate opens up". nechronicle. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. Tighe, Chris (19 May 2017). "Inside Momentum: Bernie Sanders' team's tips for Labour activists". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  5. "Driscoll beats his own council's leader to Labour nomination for the first North of Tyne mayor". publicsectorexecutive.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  6. "Labour members pick 'socialist' for mayoral vote ahead of established candidate". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 20 February 2019. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. "Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor". Retrieved 18 January 2020 – via Facebook.
  8. "Home". Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. "Mayoral Election Results". NTCA. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. Seddon, Sean (7 May 2019). "New mayor Jamie Driscoll declares climate emergency on first day in job". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. Seddon, Sean (15 August 2019). "100 days of Jamie Driscoll as mayor: The key decisions made and what to expect". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. Serle, Fraser (6 June 2023). "Working Together: Our Corporate Plan 2023-24". NTCA. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  13. "Paul Mason – Where Next After Corbynism: A Reply". #JD4Mayor. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  14. "North East devolution deal". GOV.UK. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  15. Pidd, Helen (4 June 2023). "Labour mayors say party undemocratic for blocking Jamie Driscoll's candidacy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  16. "Nadhim Zahawi's Tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  17. Chakrabortty, Aditya (8 June 2023). "Notes on a scandal: this is how Starmer's bullies took out Jamie Driscoll – and why it matters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  18. "https://twitter.com/MayorJD/status/1680912916164276224". Twitter. Retrieved 18 July 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  19. "About Jamie". Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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