Labour’s David Skaith was elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire at Harrogate Convention Centre today.
Mr Skaith will be paid £81,300-a-year to lead the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, overseeing an annual budget of £18 million. He will have new devolved powers from Westminster and will champion the largest geographical region of any mayor.
Here’s a look back at today’s election count at Harrogate Convention Centre.
2.41pm: Keane Duncan magnanimous in defeat
The Conservative candidate was well beaten but he applauded winner David Skaith and is giving interviews now to a long list of journalists.
We have grabbed a word with him and all the other candidates. Look out for extensive reaction and analysis on the Stray Ferret over the next few days.
2.34pm: Final vote
2.29pm: Clear win for Labour
David Skaith is giving his acceptance speech. The final result was drowned out but he beat Conservative Keane Duncan by about 15,000 votes.
2.24pm: LABOUR’S DAVID SKAITH WINS!
2.20pm: Candidates reappear
Poker faces all round but someone just shook David Skaith’s hand. Has he won? We are awaiting the announcement.
2.08pm: Candidates being told results
Returning officer Richard Flinton announces provisional results being shared with candidates and election agents. They have disappeared into a room.
The result should follow very soon, unless one of the candidates is granted a recount.
This is tense — nobody seems to be making any confident predictions but most people are leaning towards Labour’s David Skaith.
2.05pm: Result expected imminently
A media person has just told us ‘don’t go for any long walks’ as a result is due very soon.
2pm: David Skaith returns
The elusive Labour candidate is back in the building, looking understandably pensive.
1.49pm: Result within the hour?
A big screen here at Harrogate Convention Centre shows the counts at the four other locations, and all appear to have finished.
That could mean a result is not far away. We are hearing it could be as soon as half an hour. But there is also the possibility of a recount if it is close.
1.35pm: Will high turnout help Tories?
There is speculation that the higher than expected turnout could suit the Conservatives.
There were fears among Tories that many of their voters would stay at home but the 30% turnout has buoyed hopes that a good proportion did register their votes yesterday.
A 30% turnout may not seem that high but by comparison, the final North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election, won by Conservative Zoe Metcalfe in 2021, attracted a 14% turnout.
Remember, the commissioner’s role will be taken over by the new mayor.
1.29pm: Nervous moments as result looms
There’s not much happening now. But the result can ony happen as fast as the slowest count. We understand one of the two Scarborough counts has finished but there are also counts in Northallerton and York.
We managed a word with Keane Duncan, who seems cheerful and agredd to pose for a photo but declined to comment until afterwards.
There is still no great certainty here, other than that it’s a two-horse race between the Conservatives and Labour, whose candidate David Skaith has not been seen since his brief appearance earlier.
1.05pm: Conservative candidate Keane Duncan arrives
Conservative candidate Keane Duncan has arrived, which means all six candidates have been spotted at Harrogate Convention Centre. He’s smiling and chatting with local Conservatives but these must be nervous moments.
Still no sign of Andrew Jones or Tom Gordon.
12.44pm: Labour still saying ‘too close to call’
About the only people not predicting a Labour victory here today are the Labour Party.
We just had a quick word with the regional media team who said they were very wary of predictions, and were still waiting for updates from the other counts taking place in York, Scarborough and Northallerton.
David Skaith has still not returned since his brief appearance earlier. The only other candidate who does not appear to be in the room here is Conservative Keane Duncan.
12.29pm: Ben Houchen wins – good omen for Tories?
Conservative Ben Houchen has just been declared the winner of the Tees Valley mayoral election. Some were predicting his defeat — is this a good sign for the Tories a few miles south in North Yorkshire?
12.02pm: Lib Dem candidate thinks she will finish third
It appears to be a straight fight between the Conservatives and Labour, with most people predicting a Labour win — but nobody appears to be doing so with any great certainty.
Lib Dem candidate Felicity Cunliffe-Lister says it looks like she may finish third. She adds:
“I was a little bit late entering the race than I would have liked. It just took a long time for the selection process so I didn’t hit the ground running,”
Ms Cunliffe-Lister says she is the only candidate to have been to all 17 hustings, and says she has enjoyed her foray into politics since being elected as Lib Dem councillor, a role she continues to fulfil.
ps the man in the previous post was Don Mackenzie, the former highways chief on North Yorkshire County Council.
11.48am: Count in full swing
Ballots are being counted. Quick question – who is the man standing with his back to the camera? Clue — he was a major figure in local politics until the 2022 local elections.
11.42am: 37 media outlets expected
There is a lot of media interest in the election of the county’s first mayor. Officials say 37 media outlets have been accredited. The media area is starting to fill up.
11.38am: David Skaith arrives
Labour candidate David Skaith has arrived at Harrogate Convention Centre. We asked for a photo, something the other four candidates here so far have obliged us with, but he politely declined, saying he was popping out and would be back.
11.34am: Tories and Lib Dems on opposite tables.
Elections are tribal: the Lib Dems are on the left table; the Conservatives are on the right. There isn’t much interaction between the two.
No sign yet of Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, or Tom Gordon, the Lib Dem who wants to succeed him. We understand Mr Gordon’s mother is standing for election in West Yorkshire and he is expected later.
11.26am: Turnout is 30%
Returning officer Richard Flinton announces the figure.
11.20am: Result could be declared early afternoon
The verification process, which was due to end at noon, is over and the word is the result could be declared early, at about 2pm, but election counts operate in a parallel universe full of rumours and nothing is confirmed.
We are told, however, the turnout figure is expected shortly. There’s a rumour (that word again) the figure is 30% at the Northallerton count, which isn’t too shabby for a mayoral election.
11.06am: Green candidate predicts Labour win
Kevin Foster, the Green Party candidate, is at Harrogate Convention Centre with his daughter (pictured above). Four of the six candidates appear to be here now, the exceptions being Conservative Keane Duncan and Labour’s David Skaith.
Mr Foster says he thinks Labour have done better here than expected and will win overall, although he suspects it will be close, with a margin of between one and five percent.
As for himself, he says he hopes to get between 5% and 10% of the vote. Candidates need 5% to get their £5.000 deposit back. He says the Greens are a small party that only received 220 donations in North Yorkshire last year.
10.52am: Strong turnout of Lib Dems at convention centre
There is a large turnout of local Lib Dem activists and councillors, Candidate Felicity Cunliffe-Lister is sporting a rosette.
10.43am: Independent candidate predicts Labour win
Bilton councillor Paul Haslam, who left the Conservatives to stand as an independent in the mayoral contest, says he gets the sense the voting has been “tribal” and he feels David Skaith will win overall.
10.27am: Rumours begin
The count has yet to begin but supporters at the verification process are seeing crosses on ballots and making claims. So NOTHING IS CONFIRMED but the whisper is the Liberal Democrats are doing well at this count, the Greens are doing poorly and Keith Tordoff is the leading independent.
Remember, the Harrogate count includes votes cast in the Harrogate and Knaresborough, Selby and Ainsty and part of the new Wetherby and Easingwold constituencies, so about two-and-a-half constituencies.
10.16am: First candidate arrives
Independent Keith Tordoff, looking dapper and sounding chipper, is the first candidate to arrive. He says he’s attended every hustings he’s been invited to — about 17 — and achieved a broad coalition of support from diverse groups including the Yorkshire Party, local mosques and Reform UK.
He says:
“Win, lose or draw I will wake up happy tomorrow because I am healthy and I love life.”
Mr Tordoff says he feels the mayor should be independent because a Labour mayor would favour Labour-controlled City of York council and a Conservative mayor would favour Tory-controlled North Yorkshire Council.
10.10am: 120 counters in Harrogate
There are 120 counters here at Harrogate Convention Centre. Counts are also taking place at Northallerton and Scarborough but the result will be declared here,
There were 668 polling stations across York and North Yorkshire yesterday, which were manned by 2,000 volunteers. The size of the electorate is 485,105 in North Yorkshire and 154,105 in York. The turnout still remains unknown.
9.39am: Verification process underway
Richard Flinton
Returning officer Richard Flinton, the chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, is expected to declare the result mid-afternoon. He has just taken to a plinth to announce the verification process is underway. The actual count is due to start at noon.
9.15am: Will Tory pain extend to North Yorkshire?
It’s been a bad night for the Conservatives, with losses in the Blackpool South by-election and in council elections. Will the pain extend to the traditional Tory heartlands of North Yorkshire in today’s mayoral vote? We will provide update throughout the day from Harrogate Convention Centre, where the winner is expected to be announced this afternoon.
