CBI Responds To North East And Tees Valley Mayoral Election Results

Congratulations to Kim McGuiness and Ben Houchen on their election as North East and Tees Valley Mayors respectively. After a difficult few years for people and businesses across the area, there’s really no time to waste in getting the regional economy firing once again.

Delivering sustainable and inclusive growth must be at the very top of the new mayors’ ‘to do’ lists. That means pressing ahead with key economic priorities including skills development and retention, supporting regional innovation to increase productivity, and promoting our industrial strengths on the international stage to drive further investment.

We also need to give serious consideration to how mayoral influence and collaboration can boost east-west connectivity, support industrial decarbonisation, and – working in partnership with business – address the acute socio-economic and health challenges faced by our region.