The North East in South: The Impact of the Mayoral Election

Many have failed to recognise the long process towards gaining the new Mayoral office. It has been a conflict since the North East’s devolved assembly was proposed in 2004. The growth of mayoral elections across England, has led some exclaim that it was only inevitable for the North East to gain a mayor. Yet it was the most recent region to be delegated greater powers of devolution. This political process has decentralised the power of the English government away from Westminster and to more localised forms of representation, in the hopes of creating a more representational democratic system. Again, the relevance and success of the new authority is highly disputed across England. But what is of more relevance to Durham students is the extent to which we, as students, felt included but also informed within the election. More curiously how do students feel about the significance of the first north east mayoral election?

When talking to students across Durham, a surprisingly common reality was that few students realised that it was the first time the North East would have a mayor. 

This suggests that there was a lack of political information on the significance of the election. Similarly, some students were even unable to name a candidate or the successful candidate themselves. For those still unable to: it was Labour’s Kim McGuinness. Although the Student Union publicised the North East Mayor Hustings on the 23rd April and the Durham Union attempted to inform its followers on the election and the hustings, only some students were aware of the Hustings and the possible candidates. This may be seen in the relatively low turnout of 31% of registered voters voting. Although, most mayoral elections have consistently had turnouts ranging between 21% to 36% across England, suggesting low turnout to be common within English politics. 

Additionally to using social media and The Hub being turned into a polling station, there may be future possibilities for the University and South College itself to aid the informing of students to vote in their best interests.

 The North East Election’s significance to Durham students cannot be over-exaggerated because it is too soon to understand the impact of McGuinness’ policies. Around 22% of Durham students were international in the 2021 to 2022 year, yet when speaking to some international students, the election itself was of little significance due to their inability to vote. Many students were unable to comment on the election, which only undermines the perceived relevance of the new Mayor at the beginning of her term.

In reality, the true significance and impact of the new Mayor for Durham and Student society is yet to be seen. However, for future elections there may be room for more information to be delivered to students so our decisions can be slightly more informed and benefit our interests more directly. ∎