Latest news with #Houchen
New Statesman
29-04-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
How much trouble are the Tories in?
Photo byThe real competition as far as Labour and the Conservatives are concerned this week, with Thursday's local elections looming, is not about winning votes or council seats but lowering expectations. Neither of the two main parties is going to have a particularly fun night. From Labour, the message is that governments are always punished in 'mid-term' locals (ignore for a moment the fact that ten months after a historic landslide victory can't really be considered 'mid-term') as voters take the opportunity to give whoever is in charge back in Westminster a good kicking. For the Conservatives, expectation management involves reminding everyone, as Kemi Badenoch put it, that the party 'always knew that this election was going to be a challenge' because of just how well the party did last time these seats were fought. 'Well' is an understatement: reaping the benefits of Boris Johnson's vaccine rollout popularity, the Tories won two-thirds of all seats up for election in 2021. Four years later, they are in the unenviable position of defending 973 seats – which means 973 chances for defeat. Current polls suggest the Tories would be lucky to cling on to half of these. Losses of over 500 are being priced in. Over the weekend it emerged that Tory campaign director Rachel Maclean has been on holiday in the Himalayas. Good for her – and a good opportunity for CCHQ to take the 'we lost because we didn't bother trying' strategy to a whole new level. As George Eaton wrote in Morning Call yesterday, much of the pressure comes from the Liberal Democrats – especially in erstwhile Tory heartlands like Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, and even Warwickshire, where Ed Davey has his eyes on shifting the council from Conservative majority to no overall control. Indeed, the Lib Dems are hoping to leapfrog the Tories and come out of the local elections second only to Labour in terms of running councils. Yet for all that, it isn't Ed Davey that is haunting the Conservatives' waking moments, but – of course – Nigel Farage. Ben Houchen, Tees Valley mayor and the most powerful elected Conservative in the country, is the latest to muse openly about the potential for a deal between the Tories and Reform at the next general election: 'Obviously there's going to be a conversation to form a coalition or some sort of pact' if the two parties were to win enough MPs combined to form a majority, Houchen told the BBC. It's true that Houchen was referring to a deal after the next general election, once the votes have been counted. But other Tories have other ideas and have been more blatant in their pleas to 'unite the right'. Houchen's comments come days after Robert Jenrick, shadow justice secretary and successor-in-waiting to Kemi Badenoch, was revealed to have said he was determined 'one way or another' to 'bring this coalition together'. And it's only been a few weeks since Esther McVey mooted the possibility of Reform and the Tories agreeing not to stand against one another in certain seats – as the Brexit Party stood down in Conservative-held seats for Boris Johnson in 2019. As I wrote last week, Reform figures have gleefully rejected any suggestion they could get into bed with the Tories. It is in Farage's interest to do so – as it cements his narrative that Reform is the alternative to the so-called 'uniparty', with Labour and the Conservatives two sides of the same coin (or 'two cheeks of the same arse,' to borrow a phrase of fellow political disruptor George Galloway). Seeming keen to make a deal could be ruinous for Reform's anti-establishment image. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe The Tories pushing the idea of a pact are counting on Farage's opportunism, sure that the Reform leader would be open to changing his mind if the situation could be shown to work in his favour. And Farage has this week thrown them a (sort-of) bone by saying Reform will be 'grown-ups' about what they do after the election in terms of co-operating on councils. He did add, however, that any deal would be 'on tough terms'. The Tories pushing the pact line consider it inherently logical that the right must be united in order to defeat Labour (note Houchen's use of the word 'obviously', for example). But any pollster will tell you that hopefully tallying up Reform and Tory votes to reach a number that looks on the surface like an achievable goal for a united right is wildly deluded. While there clearly is overlap, much of Reform's appeal comes from the fact that Farage hasn't been in Westminster for the last decade and a half overseeing the country's decline. There is another problem with the pact talk: it makes the Conservatives look desperate. On Monday, More In Common director Luke Tryl (the man behind last week's Chaotic Map Of Doom) shared an insight from his focus groups that should terrify the Conservatives: all the talk of a merger has voters thinking 'you can tell they're struggling because now they're trying to get in with Reform'. The Tories are not projecting the image of a party that is calm and in control. Voters pick up on weakness. And no one likes voting for weak parties. The one glimmer the Tories can hang onto is that on the expectation setting front, they are crushing Reform – as, incidentally, is Labour. Excitable Reform activists are bigging up their prospects to anyone who will listen, whether it's Andrea Jenkyns winning the Lincolnshire mayoralty or the chances of taking the supposedly safe Labour seat of Runcorn and Helsby in the by-election. There has been so much over-egging of a Reform landslide, in fact, that a performance that is anything less than exceptional – not winning Runcorn, say, or failing to translate vote share into council seats – risks looking like a disappointment for Farage. Maybe Kemi Badenoch has something to teach him after all. [See also: Mark Carney enters the arena] Related
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ben Houchen: Tories may need to form coalition with Reform
The Conservative Party may need to form a coalition with Reform UK at the next general election to keep Labour out of government, Tory mayor Lord Houchen has Tees Valley mayor told the BBC that if the number of Tory and Reform MPs "create a significant majority" then "obviously there's going to be a conversation to form a coalition or some sort of pact". Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a coalition with Nigel Farage's party at a national level, arguing Reform is seeking to destroy the Tories. A Reform UK spokesman said the party had "no intention of forming coalitions or pacts with the Tories", saying they "broke Britain". Asked if he was talking about a potential coalition between the two parties, Lord Houchen said: "I'm talking about the practicalities of keeping Labour out of government."However, speaking on told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said there was still three years until the next general election for the Tories to "battle" Reform. "Kemi [Badenoch] and the Conservative Party have a huge amount to do to regain that trust, put forward the Conservative argument so that people don't go to Reform," he added. Asked by Sky News if she would forbid councillors going into coalition with Reform at next week's local elections in England, Badenoch said: "I'm not going into any coalition whatsoever with Nigel Farage or Reform at national level."However, she added: "At local level, it's different. In the national election, you can rerun the election, at local level you can't. So, there might be no overall control. "And what I've said to our councillors, I trust these people, they're very smart, they've been doing this for decades, is that you have to do what is right for your local area."Farage has previously dismissed suggestions Reform and Tory councillor could enter coalitions but said there could be informal "working relationships" with other parties at a local level. The Lib Dems said "Badenoch's authority lies in tatters", with senior Tory figures "openly contradicting her". "The public is appalled at the prospect of Badenoch doing a grubby deal with Farage," deputy leader Daisy Cooper added. Labour has also previously accused the Tories of "plotting a grubby backroom deal with Nigel Farage". Lord Houchen warned the Tories were facing "an extremely tough election" on Thursday, when voters go to the polls to elect councillors and mayors in parts of England. He said they were facing "another right-of-centre party" in Reform UK, which was "eating away" at the Tory vote. Labour is also facing a challenge from Reform, which has seen its support in national polls grow since last year's general election. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden claimed it was not "unusual" for governments not to do well in local elections but the party would be "working for every vote". He told Kuenssberg that Labour had "inherited a difficult situation" but the country was "beginning to see something of a turnaround", with falling NHS waiting lists and the first breakfast clubs opening in schools. Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said she was confident her party would increase its number of councillors for the eighth year in a told the BBC people felt "let down" by Labour and the Conservatives and wanted to send them a message. "While some people are looking at Reform for that, a lot of people are thinking, well I don't just want to vote for division and rhetoric, I want to vote for some hard working local Green councillors who are actually going to fix things," she added. POSTCODE LOOKUP: Check if there is an election in your areaSIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the local electionsGET IN TOUCH: Tell us the election issues that matter to youFULL COVERAGE: Catch up on all our election stories On Thursday, elections will be held for 23 councils, mostly in rural and suburban areas. There will also be mayoral elections in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, North Tyneside, and the West of England and - for the first time - in Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater a by-election is being held in Runcorn and Helsby, after former Labour MP Mike Amesbury resigned following his conviction for assaulting a Conservatives are defending the most seats in the upcoming elections, which were last contested in 2021 when then-prime minister Boris Johnson was enjoying a surge in support following the rollout of the Covid vaccine. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
TVCA to 'reflect' on mayoral conflict of interest guidance
A combined authority says it will "reflect carefully" on government advice stating mayors of such organisations should not chair Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs) to "avoid conflicts of interest".But Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) did not say whether elected Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen would step down from his role chairing three advice was issued on 3 April, the same day the TVCA was hit with a Best Value Notice - meaning it must work with the government to make sure public money is being used appropriately. Houchen declined to comment when approached by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Although the government guidance was issued for all MDCs across the country, it was created to address a recommendation from the Tees Valley Review - an independent investigation into the Teesworks come into existence after a regional mayor designates a mayoral development area with the object of securing regeneration there. Separate roles As of January 2025, there are two MDCs in London, one in Manchester and three in the Tees Valley - the latter all chaired by are the South Tees Development Corporation, the Middlesbrough Development Corporation and the Hartlepool Development government said oversight of MDCs "should be clearly separate from decision making to avoid conflicts of interest."Bearing in mind mayors of combined authorities provide oversight of MDCs, and have powers in relation to the issuing of guidance and direction to an MDC, "the mayor should not be the chair of an MDC," the guidance it was reported that within the Tees Valley Review there was discussion of "perceived conflicts of interest" and this resulted in changes at the top of the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC), however Houchen remained both chair of TVCA and of STDC. When asked in December what his reasoning was for this, he said: "The development corporation is my project, and it gives more political accountability to have the directly elected mayor as the chairman of the public body."A TVCA spokesman said MDCs had cut through bureaucracy to secure investment and added: "We will reflect carefully on the government's updated guidance and work with partners to make any necessary adjustments, while keeping our absolute focus on delivering real outcomes for local people." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Tees Valley to scrap public questions at meetings
A regional authority has been accused of "removing citizen's rights" with a change to prevent the public from submitting questions ahead of current system of sending questions to the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) and having them answered by officers is set to be scrapped at a meeting later.A cabinet report said the TVCA's plan to introduce a Question Time with the Mayor, Lord Ben Houchen, in May will allow the "public participation protocol" to be removed from its report states where there is "legitimate question to answer, it is important that TVCA does so", but claims the current protocol is an ineffective use of resources. The Conservative mayor plans to host in-person Question Time events twice a year and participate in a monthly local radio Ray Casey, a member of the Teesside Resistance group which opposes Houchen, said it "appears to be an attempt to reduce public scrutiny of the TVCA".He claimed that, under the new proposed system, people would not be guaranteed to have access to Houchen in order to ask questions, some could be vetted to "avoid difficult ones" and it was also "highly unlikely" the mayor would be able to answer detailed questions. 'Public money' At a meeting last year, TVCA's chief legal officer Emma Simson said officers had worked through the night in advance of a meeting in an attempt to answer submitted questions.A cabinet report, to be considered by TVCA cabinet members, said: "Where there is a legitimate question to answer, it is important that TVCA does so, but currently hours of officer time are being used pointing to readily available resources, reducing capacity. "TVCA believes this is not an effective use of public money and resources."According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the report goes on to say removing the public participation protocol is "both proportionate and reflects the approach taken by other combined authorities that already have in place a mayor's Question Time".Mr Casey said that, rather than "removing our rights as citizens", the TVCA could have sought to increase the capacity available to deal "quickly and effectively" with any questions coming in. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
British Steel will not revisit Teesside arc furnace plans in Redcar
British Steel said it would not revisit plans to build an electric arc furnace (EAF) at one of its plants, even though it was consulting on the closure of an alternative site for the was reported in January the firm had shelved plans to build an EAF in Lackenby, near Redcar, in favour of building two at its Scunthorpe factory, which is at risk of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the Scunthorpe proposals had been unworkable and "economically flawed", as he criticised the government's handling of the Department of Business and Trade declined to comment on Mr Houchen's claims but said it had committed £2.5bn to rebuilding the sector. On Thursday, British Steel said its two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe were "no longer financially sustainable" and launched a consultation into closing the factory, a move which has put 2,700 jobs at said he had warned the government the deal to move the arc furnace plans entirely to Scunthorpe would end in collapse."We had a serious deal on the table to bring an electric arc furnace to Teesside," he said. "It would have secured jobs, attracted investment, and delivered a long-term future for green steelmaking in the UK. For whatever reason, that deal was quietly dropped."A spokesperson for British Steel said while the Scunthorpe facilities were being consulted on it would continue to operate its rolling mill in Skinningrove, Redcar. 'Steel is our identity' On Wednesday, Industry Minister Sarah Jones told the Business and Trade Select Committee British Steel's owner, Jingye, had rejected a deal from the government, which the BBC understands involved a cash injection of £ a joint statement, local Labour MPs Anna Turley and Luke Myer, along with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council leader Alec Brown, said they were "deeply concerned" about Jingye's rejection of the offer."This development raises the possibility of impacts on workers at Lackenby and Skinningrove, as well as their families and our communities," they said."Steel is not just an industry, it is part of our identity. For generations, steelworkers have been the backbone of our communities, and we are determined they will remain so in the years ahead." Unions Community, GMB and Unite have called on the government to do everything it can to secure the Scunthorpe site, including using £2.5bn it had set aside for the steel industry."Jingye's announcement is devastating and sets up a disastrous cliff edge for British Steel and its dedicated workforce," said Community assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid."We urge the company and the government to conclude an agreement to prevent a catastrophic outcome." Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he understood it was a "deeply worrying time for staff" and he would work tirelessly to reach an agreement with the Steel chief executive Zengwei An has said consultations on the closure were "a necessary decision given the hugely challenging circumstances the business faces". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
