Who could be the elected mayors of the North East?

Who could reach out across the North East? Credit: ITV News

With devolution comes the need to elect a mayor, who will be accountable to the people of the North East, and work with the local councils. For our region there will be two mayors, one for the North East Combined Authority and one for the Tees Valley.

It won't happen until 2017, but this person will have wide-ranging powers over things like transport, employment and skills, and strategic planning.

Here are some names in the frame for job for the North East are:

Vera Baird

As Northumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird holds to account the police force covering large swathes of the Combined Authority area, and therefore understands the issues facing both urban and rural communities. She was also an MP for 9 years.

Simon Henig

Simon Henig is current chair of the North East Combined Authority. He is also Labour leader of Durham County Council and has previously called on the North East to be united and fight for devolution after the General Election.

Nick Forbes

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes last year said he is going to send George Osborne a map so that he realises that a "northern powerhouse" would stretch as far as the North East. He has said the project is not all about Manchester and Leeds.

Norma Redfearn

A former teacher, Norma Redfearn is already a directly-elected mayor having won the ballot in North Tyneside two years ago. She is in fact the only one in the North East Combined Authority area, the other councils having leaders.

Nick Brown

Nick Brown was Minister for the North East until the 2010 General Election, after which the post was abolished by the Coalition Government. He has been a Labour MP in Newcastle since 1983, making him the longest serving one in the region.

The names currently in the frame for the Tees Valley Combined Authority are:

Graham Robb

Graham Robb is a businessman and is the founder of Recognition PR and is currently the chair of the Institute of Directors North East. ITV Tyne Tees believes he is going to stand for mayor.

Dave Roberts

Former sports broadcaster Dave Roberts has announced his intention to run as elected mayor for Tees Valley. The local businessman says his key campaign objective would be to press for the adoption of ‘Teesside and Darlington’ as the accepted identity for the area, hoping it would bring more jobs to the area.