Middlesbrough gets new mayor after shock defeat
Andy Preston lost in a tight mayoral race.
Labour has pulled off a significant political shock, defeating Andy Preston in a tight mayoral race in Middlesbrough.
The party’s candidate Chris Cooke has swept to victory in an incredibly narrow contest, which came down to just 760 votes. Labour won with 10,956 votes to Independent Mr Preston’s 10,196.
Independent Jon Rathmell received 3,102 votes and Conservative John Cooper finished last with 2,997. Turnout in the race was 27.75% with 27,479 votes cast out of a total electorate of 99,034.
Mr Cooke said: “I would like to thank the other candidates, it’s been a whirlwind experience but I would like to thank them for being part of it. I would also like to thank every single person who was involved in using their democratic process. I am thoroughly looking forward to getting on with the job.”
During his campaign, the Labour candidate pledged to support families through the cost of living crisis, restore trust and faith in the council, create jobs, support local businesses, ensure there are decent homes and create a plan to make the town safe. He also committed to scrapping the Linthorpe Road cycle lane.
A Labour spokesperson said: “This is a huge result and beyond our expectations. Taking this back from independents who won it with 59% of the vote in 2019 shows exactly the kind of progress we needed to make in Teesside.”
Labour has repeatedly said throughout the campaign that it is taking nothing for granted. Mr Preston, who has been mayor since 2019, was considered the favourite heading into the race but his hopes of serving for another four years have been dashed.
The ousted mayor said he would have loved to have seen through the plans he was working on for the town but he had given 100% and was looking forward to getting his life back.
Taking to the stage after his defeat, he added: “It’s been an amazing four years, incredibly difficult, incredibly tough. We have had Covid, we have had a cost of living crisis, monstrous retail decline but despite that we have got record investment, a jobs boom, amazing things going on, and we are fighting challenges head-on….We don’t cover up the problems anymore, I think the town is in great shape to move forward.”
Voters also went to the polls on Thursday to elect ward councillors across the town. All eyes will now turn to these results, which will be revealed on Friday – counting will begin at 10am.
Middlesbrough Council is a key target for Labour, which is hoping to take back the seats it lost in 2019 and regain its majority. The party will be heading into Friday’s count bolstered by the mayoral win – it needs 23 seats to take back control now Mr Cooke has been elected.