Reports from tees valley. An icon of a vibrant an icon of a vibrant industrial an icon of a vibrant industrial past, now out of action, symbolising area struggling to find its feet. Tees valley, and infinite hercules in its day, a white capital of imake income is now clearing a site 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 map, and now a mayoral contest with high stakes mayoral contest with high sta kes from mayoral contest with high stakes from the two main parties. A poster boy of the red bull, 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, and a winnerfor heartland for his party, and a winner for chris heartland for his party, and a winnerfor Chris Mcewan Heartland for his party, and a winner for chris mcew
roll. this is the headline grabber. if rishi sunak roll. this is the headline grabber. if rishi sunak holds roll. this is the headline grabber. if rishi sunak holds on roll. this is the headline grabber. if rishi sunak holds on to - roll. this is the headline grabber. if rishi sunak holds on to this, i if rishi sunak holds on to this, then that is what he will be trumpeting, he does have that indefinable quality to reach out to these form areas that borisjohnson one, so that is big for him, but to overturn 873% share of the vote last time around for labour, it would be a massive triumph, to show that they really are coming home to their former heartlands, so just talking to various people out on doorsteps, they say it is incredibly close, and they say it is incredibly close, and they are all wary for their own sites, but nobody is really predicting the win here. find predicting the win here. and offerin . s predicting the win here. and offerings from predicting the win here. a
trend. a local labour stalwart, hopes to win back what was once a heartland for his party, and a winnerfor heartland for his party, and a winner for chris heartland for his party, and a winnerfor chris mcewan heartland for his party, and a winner for chris mcewan would ease keir starmer s pass nationally. and the lib dems outsider, placing the outsider of child poverty at the heart of his campaign. 0ver outsider of child poverty at the heart of his campaign. over the past decade or so, tees valley felt neglected by the party that thought it was the area s champion. so voters delivered a series of bloody noses to labour, try electing a conservative mayor and then injecting labour from the conservative mayor and then injecting labourfrom the prized parliamentary seat of hartlepool in a by election, the lowest of low points. injecting labour. that is why this may or context reverberates further beyond here, the tory win, and rishi sunak will grab a lifeline. a labour win and keir starm