Thursday 2nd May saw voters around the country vote for their Metro mayoral candidate. The Metro mayoral elections held are typically held every three years but the last one was delayed due to the pandemic. They are important because, among other things, the Metro mayors are responsible for housing and economic policy within their mayoral authority. 10 positions were up for grabs and the results have just been announced.
So, how could the election results influence housing and the economy in the different regions?
The Metro Mayoral Election Results
East Midlands – Labour
The new East Midlands mayoral authority was won by Labour’s Claire Ward. Claire wants to build more homes on unused industrial land, insist on energy efficient, carbon neutral developments, bring hundreds of empty properties back into use, and unlock new land for homes. She also wants to revitalise high streets and towns through a Community Development Fund.
Greater Manchester – Labour hold
Greater Manchester remains Labour with Andy Burnham re-elected for a third term. The housing element of his manifesto aims to make ‘Greater Manchester the UK’s first Housing First city-region, with a clear mission to end the housing crisis by 2038’. This includes a new right for tenants to request a property check, a good landlord charter, and plans to build 1,000 homes in every borough by 2028. In terms of Manchester City itself, two sites have been launched in the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, and Labour plan to build up to 500 homes per year with at least 20% rented at or below the Manchester Living Rent. There is also a promise to complete the Bee Network by including buses in south Manchester in early 2025 and eight commuter railway lines by 2028.
Liverpool City Region – Labour hold
Liverpool City Region remains Labour with Steve Rotheram re-elected for a third term. Steve wants to introduce a ‘Good Landlord Charter’ to drive up the quality of renting in the region and put power back in the hands of renters. He has also pledged to attract 25% more foreign direct investment into the city region by 2030 and wants to position the Liverpool City Region as a leader in AI.
London – Labour hold
London remains Labour with Sadiq Khan re-elected for a third term. Sadiq campaigned on ‘fixing the housing crisis’ with 40,000 new council homes, rent control homes and an end to rough sleeping by 2030. He also wants to set up a publicly owned developer to deliver more homes for social rent.
North East – Labour
The new North East mayoral authority was won by Labour’s Kim McGuinness, the former Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria. Kim wants new powers to seize properties from irresponsible landlords and hand them to councils and social housing companies. As a new mayoral authority, she plans to develop a Regional Spatial Plan for the North East that maps what housing, transport links, job creation opportunities and green space is needed. She see’s housebuilding at the forefront of the region’s efforts to tackle climate change and improve people’s lives.
Salford – Labour hold
Salford remains Labour with Paul Dennett re-elected for a third term. Paul has centred his housing policy on delivering 600 new homes over the next four years through the council’s development company Dérive. This includes 198 new homes under construction in Weaste, Charlestown and Little Hulton, 201 homes subject to planning approval or recently approved in Ordsall, Weaste and Cadishead, and 225 being built in Little Hulton, Seedley and Blackfriars and Trinity.
South Yorkshire – Labour hold
South Yorkshire remains Labour with Oliver Coppard re-elected for a second term. Last year, South Yorkshire was named as the first UK Investment Zone with Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley all standing to benefit from an estimated 8,000 new jobs and £1.2 billion of private funding in advanced manufacturing by 2030.
Tees Valley – Conservative hold
In a closely fought battle with Labour’s Chris McEwan, Tees Valley remains Conservative with Ben Houchen re-elected for a third term. The Teesside Freeport launched in 2021 is central to Ben’s strategy for Tees Valley. Freeports can offer business incentives such as no stamp duty, five years of zero business rates, and full rebates for construction and machinery investment. As the first freeport in the UK, it aims to create more than 18,000 jobs and provide a boost to the local economy worth billions in its first five years.
West Midlands – Labour gain
In a shock result, Labour’s Richard Parker has pipped Tory incumbent Andy Street, who has served since 2017, to the post. Richard wants to ‘fix the housing crisis and crack down on rogue landlords’ by building 20,000 extra homes in the region by 2031 and introducing a landlords register. He also wants to create 150,000 jobs and training opportunities across the West Midlands.
West Yorkshire – Labour hold
West Yorkshire remains Labour with Tracey Brabin re-elected for a second term. Tracey has pledged 5,000 affordable new homes by 2028 as well as a programme to retrofit all social homes by 2028. She has also set up a Dementia-Ready Housing Taskforce to create homes that support those living with the condition.
York & North Yorkshire – Labour
The new York & North Yorkshire mayoral authority was won by Labour’s David Skaith, who secured around a third of the vote in an area previously considered a Conservative stronghold. David campaigned on a ‘cost of living recovery plan’ aimed at supporting families, building affordable housing and boosting business.
Local Council Election results
Elsewhere, it was a disastrous night for the Conservatives in the local council elections with the Conservatives losing Rushmoor council to Labour, Redditch to Labour and North East Lincolnshire, which is now under no overall control. The results are still coming in but, overall, the Conservatives have lost nearly 500 councillors, in what was a difficult night for the Tories.
Commenting, Adam Yaqub, Sales Manager at E.R.E Property, said: “As expected the Metro mayoral elections were dominated by Labour wins. This was the case in 2021 and UK cities have historically voted Labour. The biggest shock was in the West Midlands where Tory incumbent Andy Street lost to Labour’s Richard Parker. This capped a miserable weekend for the Conservatives, who also lost close to 500 councillors in the local council elections, signalling a likely changing of the guard at the next General Election in the autumn.”
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