Every part of the North East that will join a new £4.2bn devolution deal has reported public backing for the historic shakeup of the region’s politics.
Newly-released figures show that support levels for the huge agreement, which will see a new North East mayor elected next year, were highest in Newcastle and lowest in Northumberland. But each of the seven areas involved in the deal saw a majority of respondents to a recent public consultation express support.
The results of the consultation were initially published last month and showed that 61.2% of people across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Durham backed the deal, though detailed results for each individual area were not given at the time. However, there has been criticism of its “really disappointing” response rate – with just 3,235 submissions from a population of roughly two million people.
