North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll has resigned from the Labour Party after being blocked by the party from running for another role in the North-East.
The left-leaning mayor, who has been described as the “last Corbynista in power”, was last month barred from the longlist to run in the new expanded North-East authority.
Posting on Twitter, Mr Driscoll said that “people are tired of being controlled by Westminster and party HQs,” as he lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer for breaking promises.
So far, the North of Tyne mayor has raised more than £114,000 to run as an independent after Labour barred him from standing.
Five Labour councillors in the region have quit Labour to campaign for Driscoll, with one telling The Chronicle: “The party was a broad church that allowed for a range of views. A party of fairness, a party of equality, a safe place for my political views. Unfortunately, this once safe place no longer feels like home.”
But who is the self-confessed socialist? Here is everything we know:
Who is Jamie Driscoll?
I’ve decided to resign from @UKLabour and serve as an Independent Mayor.
— Mayor Jamie Driscoll (@MayorJD) July 17, 2023
People are tired of being controlled by Westminster and Party HQs. They want someone to stand up for them. Let the people decide. £25k by end of Aug & I’ll stand as North East Mayor👉https://t.co/WuDEGd3xxJ pic.twitter.com/kscPeMmlX5
Mr Driscoll is a born and bred northerner and grew up on Teesside in the 1980s. His Dad was a shift worker after leaving the Army and he has said on his website how he “learned his socialism from his Mam”.
It reads: “She managed to work part-time and study at Sunderland Polytechnic to become a youth worker, all while raising four kids. She went on to be women’s officer for Cleveland County Council, a union shop steward, and chair of the Women’s Refuge from Domestic Violence.”
Mr Driscoll left school at 16, and worked in a factory to earn money to help his family and then, at the age of 22, returned to education as a mature student to study engineering at Northumbria University.
On graduating, he worked in Blyth as an engineer making breathing apparatus, and as a project manager and company director in the electronics and IT sector, setting up his own software-development business.
He married Caroline, who’s a GP in Gateshead, and the pair share two sons. When they were born, he became a stay-at-home dad so his wife could continue her medical career.
Outside of work, Mr Driscoll is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and went back into politics after he had finished home schooling his children. They are now studying for GCSEs and A-Levels.
What has been Jamie Driscoll’s political career?
Mr Driscoll went back into politics at the age of 48 when his children hit their teens and was a Labour & Cooperative councillor in the Monument ward of Newcastle city centre. He then went on to run for mayor.
He was elected as the first-ever North of Tyne Mayor in May 2019.
What are Jamie Driscoll’s main beliefs?
Mr Driscoll is a self-confessed socialist and says he has major concerns over climate-change concerns, but also about the cost-of-living crisis many are facing, something he says he sees every day in his role.
Writing on his site, he said: “The climate crisis is real and urgent but it is not the only emergency we face.
“I no longer own a car, I cycle to meetings, I have solar panels on my roof. But that’s not an option for everyone. If you live in a suburb with no Metro and expensive buses, and have to drop your kids off at school before heading to the first of your two minimum-wage, part-time jobs, you won’t be thinking about buying a Tesla — you’ll be too busy putting food on the table.
“The drag of poverty is as urgent as the climate crisis, and it causes long-term scarring to our whole society. They are two sides of the same coin.”
Why has Jamie Driscoll fallen out of favour with the Labour Party?
The party has become embroiled in a factionalism row since the serving mayor of the North of Tyne was excluded from the election race in a move linked to an onstage appearance with Ken Loach, the film director and expelled Labour member.
A senior Labour source at the time linked the decision to the mayor sharing a panel with filmmaker Ken Loach, who was expelled from the party amid efforts to root out antisemitism from the party.
But the party’s move in June to bar Mr Driscoll from the North East contest has prompted a furious backlash.
Figures on the left of the party blamed “factionalism” under Sir Keir’s leadership, before trade union chiefs accused it of a “monumental own goal” by excluding Mr Driscoll.
Responding to his exit, a Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party is delighted that local party members have selected Kim McGuinness as our candidate for the North East mayoral election next year.
“With Keir Starmer as leader, the Labour Party is a changed party, relentlessly focussed on delivering for working people, and we make no apologies that Labour candidates are held to the highest standard.
“The Tories have let our region down, and as Labour mayor, Kim will be the strong voice the North East deserves.”
In a scathing resignation letter to the Labour leader, Mr Driscoll wrote: “Given you have barred me from running as North East mayor, despite being incumbent mayor, I have no other choice.
“In 2020 you told me to my face that you would ‘inspire people to come together … disciplining people to be united is going nowhere’. You’ve broken that promise.
“You’ve U-turned on so many promises: £28 billion to tackle the climate emergency, free school meals, ending university tuition fees, reversing NHS privatisation; in fact, a list of broken promises too long to repeat in this letter.
“Please stop saying ‘I make no apologies for…’ before you find yourself saying ‘I make no apologies for making no apologies’.
Mr Driscoll is now serving as an independent and will stand again to be re-elected mayor.
