Ben Houchen - From 200/1 underdog to Tees Valley Mayor.

Our guest today is Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley since 2017. When he first ran, his odds were 200/1 but he has gone on to become the Conservative politician with the largest electoral mandate in the North of England.

Born in Teesside, you can hear Ben’s passion for his area - after growing up there and seeing no real change he is on a mission to bring huge-scale businesses into the region- and he’s succeeding. 

We asked him what the job of a mayor entails and his plans for rebuilding the Tees Valley, his thoughts on the Mini budget, and the importance of being true to your word as a politician.

In this episode we discuss: 

• How pleased he was to see the 45p tax cut scrapped
• What is the job of the Mayor? Not what you see in Hollywood!
• What has surprised him most about being Mayor?
• What does success look like- what makes a ‘good’ mayor?
• How do you reposition an area for a new type of work?
• What does he want the Tees Valley to be known for?
• The exciting companies in Tees Valley we might not have heard of
• What are ‘investment zones’ and how to create them.
• What does ‘Dreamland’ look like?
• What’s Ben’s ‘secret sauce’?  
• What was the moment Ben decided to stand for Mayor?
• And how he accidentally won!
• The use of modern technology in running a political campaign.

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