Angela Rayner launches Kim McGuinness' Labour North East Mayor campaign

Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner officially launched Kim McGuinness' campaign to be the first North East Mayor today.

Rayner travelled to the North East to support the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria in her bid to secure the inaugural position for Labour, claiming McGuinness is a 'powerhouse' and will be 'phenomenal' in the role.

In McGuinness' manifesto, she sets out her plan to create an 'infrastructure of opportunity' across the region, focusing on jobs, housing, developing green energy and the creative industries.

"Kim McGuinness will be phenomenal as the first North East Mayor because she is [a] working-class grafter, like me," said the MP. "The frustration for me is that in my Maiden Speech I said about how people had written me off and thought I was never going to amount to anything and far too many people across the North East are written off by the Tories in Westminster.

"I don't accept that. The Labour Party doesn't accept it and neither does Kim McGuinness. Because we know with the right opportunities, without this Levelling Up sham and scam that the Tories have been portraying when they've took so much money out of the North East."

Levelling Up was a key pledge in the Conservatives' 2019 general election manifesto. Rayner's comments come just after a watchdog found only 10% of flagship Levelling Up funds has been spent.

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"With people like Kim- as Police and Crime Commissioner- putting hundreds of police back on the streets, putting the proceeds of crime back into our young people, delivering youth services, delivering Sure Start centres, doing what we do best in power. I know she'll be a powerhouse.

McGuinness has said that, if elected, she will measure her success by how many children she can lift out of poverty.

"This is the best region in the world and I just want it to be the real home of opportunity," said McGuinness. "Every young person growing up here should have the chance to succeed in our region and so we'll be focused on creating thousands of jobs. Both green jobs, jobs for the future, but also jobs in our local areas in that foundation economy that keeps things moving- the shop workers, the factory workers, the care workers that keep things going.

We'll be bringing our buses back under public control so we can have them go where we need them to, not where profit takes them. And we'll be measuring our success in the number of children we lift out of poverty. It's really important that we grow our region for future generations."