# 2017 Tees Valley mayoral election

The inaugural Tees Valley mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the mayor of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The mayor was elected by the supplementary vote system. Subsequent elections were held in May 2021 and every four years after 2024.
North East England was considered a Labour stronghold and prior to the election, the Labour candidate Sue Jeffrey was considered the overwhelming favourite. The eventual victory of the Conservative candidate Ben Houchen was reported as a shock and a poor result for Labour following their losses in the local elections that same day.

## Background

Following a devolution deal between the UK government and the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), it was agreed to introduce a directly-elected mayor for the combined authority, with an initial election to be held in May 2017. The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 required a directly-elected metro mayor for combined authorities to receive additional powers from central government.

## Candidates
### Conservative Party

Ben Houchen, Conservative group leader on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

### Labour Party

Sue Jeffrey, Redcar and Cleveland Council leader.

### Liberal Democrats

Chris Foote Wood, author and former Bishop Auckland district councillor, was selected to be the Liberal Democrat candidate after defeating Anne-Marie Curry, Liberal Democrat group leader on Darlington Borough Council, in a ballot of party members.

### North East Party

John Tait, former Parliamentary candidate in Stockton North, withdrew from the race after failing to raise the required £5,000 deposit.

### UK Independence

John Tennant, UKIP group leader on Hartlepool Borough Council.

## Results
### Overall

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 40,278 | 39.5% | 8,300 | 48,578 | 51.1% | ​​ |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 39,797 | 39.0% | 6,603 | 46,400 | 48.9% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 12,550 | 12.3% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 9,475 | 9.3% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 103,767 | 21.3% | | | | |

### By local authority
#### Darlington

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Darlington) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 7,155 | 41.9% | 1,708 | 8,863 | 56.2% | ​​ |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 5,571 | 32.7% | 1,343 | 6,914 | 43.8% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 3,395 | 19.9% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 938 | 5.5% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,059 | | | | | |

#### Hartlepool

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Hartlepool) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 4,242 | 35.2% | 1,250 | 5,492 | 53.2% | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 3,486 | 28.9% | | | | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 3,233 | 26.8% | 1,607 | 4,840 | 46.8% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 1,102 | 9.1% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,063 | | | | | |

#### Middlesbrough

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Middlesbrough) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 8,470 | 47.5% | 969 | 9,439 | 55.9% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 6,223 | 34.9% | 1,210 | 7,433 | 44.1% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 1,887 | 10.6% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 1,243 | 10.6% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,823 | | | | | |

#### Redcar and Cleveland

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Redcar and Cleveland) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 9,471 | 44.4% | 1,189 | 10,660 | 53.7% | ​​ |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 7,555 | 35.4% | 1,628 | 9,183 | 46.3% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 2,740 | 12.8% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 1,576 | 7.4% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,342 | | | | | |

#### Stockton-on-Tees

Tees Valley Mayoral Election 2017 (Stockton-on-Tees) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | 1st round | 1st round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round |
| | Conservative | Ben Houchen | 16,112 | 47.7% | 2,147 | 18,259 | 56.8% | ​​ |
| | Labour Co-op | Sue Jeffrey | 12,043 | 35.6% | 1,852 | 13,895 | 43.2% | ​​ |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote Wood | 3,426 | 10.1% | | | | ​​ |
| | UKIP | John Tennant | 2,232 | 6.6% | | | | ​​ |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,813 | | | | | |