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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Mark Brown North of England correspondent

‘We have to get the basics right’: Labour’s Chris McEwan in Tees Valley

Chris McEwan (right), Labour’s candidate for the Tees Valley mayoral election on 2 May, speaks to Ory Vanes, a deli owner in Darlington’s market.
Chris McEwan (right), Labour’s candidate for the Tees Valley mayoral election on 2 May, speaks to Ory Vanes, a deli owner in Darlington. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Politicians have been known to warn each other against parking tanks on their lawns. For the Labour candidate in one of the most keenly anticipated May mayoral elections, the phrase has added bite: Chris McEwan has hundreds of them.

He shows photos of a room at his house in Darlington with an astonishing collection of small model tanks, all neatly laid out. His grandchildren think it’s a toyshop. “It’s a throwback to when I was a child, really,” he said. “I believe in peace.”

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