Mayor Kim McGuinness takes North East’s priorities to Number 10

The Mayor set out her priorities for the region and welcomed the opportunity to take the North East’s concerns to the heart of government, days after the new administration was elected. 
In the meeting, the Mayor said further and faster devolution was needed. She called for more control over areas such as housing and arts and culture funding, so decisions could be made locally by North East leaders rather than arms-length central government bodies in London.

The Mayor has made child poverty the central priority of her term. She told the meeting that reducing poverty will create more opportunity for local people and build an economy from the ground-up. She set out her ambitions for more social housing, a better public transport network in public ownership, and unlocking the North East’s potential to create good green jobs.

She called for ministers to work in partnership with her and local leaders to unlock her ambition to make the North East the home of real opportunity. 

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:  “When I was elected, I vowed to fight for our region on the national stage and end the days where the North East was overlooked. Meeting the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister provided the opportunity to set out how we can work together to make the North East the home of real opportunity.

“I told the Prime Minister about my ambitions to reduce child poverty in the North East and how doing so will help transform our region. To achieve that, we need to go further and faster on devolution and put power in the hands of local people, so we can shape our destiny.

“Working together with the new government, we can forge a powerful partnership which unlocks opportunity, tackles child poverty and ensures the North East stands tall as a region. I look forward to working with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to make that vision a reality.”