Newsnight s Nicholas Watt reports from tees valley. An icon of a vibrant industrial past, now out of action, symbolising an area struggling to find its feet. Tees valley, an infant hercules in its days as a World Capital of iron and steel making, is now clearing sites of past glories and looking for new ventures. A painful process with economic decline, alongside pockets of affluence. That has placed this area on the National Political map, and now a mayoral contest with high stakes for the two main parties. A Rumbustious Conservative mayor became the first poster boy of the redwall, after his narrow win here in 2017. Re elected in a landslide in 2021, ben houchen is now hoping to buck the national trend. A local labour stalwart hopes to win back what was once a heartland for his party a win for chris mcewan would ease keir starmer s path nationally. And the lib dem outsider placing the fight of Child Poverty at the heart of his campaign. Over the past decade or so, Tees Valley Felt ne
no mention of a recent review which criticised oversight of the multi million pound project with 28 recommendations for greater transparency. for labour, a more conventional party campaign with more modest pledges on free town centre parking and a £2 cap on train and bus fares. from the lib dems, a pledge to deliver £25 million a yearforan early years support programme. showing off his plans to his leader. well, ben meets the ronseal test, he s someone who when he says he will do something, he does it. and people said he couldn t save the airport, he did it. people said there wouldn t be a free port, and indeed in many cases fought to stop it, he delivered it. people said there was no way that steel making will come back to teesside, he has made it happen. he embodies that teesside fighting spirit and he has made things happen. and this is obviously a really difficult time for the conservative party, but i think ben is perhaps the one
a yearforan early years support programme. showing off his plans to his leader. well, ben meets the ronseal test, he s someone who, when he says he ll do something, he does it. and people said he couldn t save the airport. he did it. people said that there wouldn t be a freeport and indeed in many cases fought to stop it. he delivered it. people said there s no way steelmaking will come back to teesside. he s made it happen. he embodies that teesside fighting spirit and he has made things happen. this is obviously a really difficult time for the conservative party, but i think ben is perhaps the one person who can rise above that. labour s candidate believes he can tap into the potential of this former industrial behemoth. i was raised here. i ve got my mum in redcar, my stepmum in middlesbrough. i brought my three daughters up in darlington. i ve worked here for most of my working career in the nhs. what does this place mean to me? it s a place of immense opportunity.