Harrogate punk singer Rio Goldhammer is hoping to be the Labour Party’s “rebel” candidate in the West Yorkshire mayoral election next year.
The elections will be held in May for the new metro mayor, who will have control over the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, similar to Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester.
Labour Party members will vote to choose their candidate in November and December, and Goldhammer hopes to join candidates including Tracy Brabin MP and Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe on the shortlist.
He told the Stray Ferret he is standing to highlight issues that matter to him, such as the detention of asylum seekers, affordable housing and public transport.
By day he is a lecturer in music business at Leeds College of Music but by night he’s the snarling frontman of post-punk band, the 1919, which he believes sets him apart from his political rivals.
He said:
“I’m a punk singer so I’m not going to be a conventional candidate. There’s a lot of safe candidates including a lawyer, an MP and the leader of Bradford Council. But whoever does win will make an absolutely great mayor.”
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Goldhammer grew up in Harrogate, attended Harrogate Grammar School, and said his upbringing in the town informed his left-wing politics.
He said:
“There’s this idea of Harrogate being 100% super posh and everybody that lives here must be a millionaire. But my family didn’t have a lot of money. I was on free school meals and had a single parent. Those things inevitably affect the way you view things later in life.”
He’s no stranger to the rigours of campaigning and in the 2016 Harrogate district council elections, he stood for the Labour Party in Killinghall, winning 8.5% of the vote share.
He even created a film about the experience standing in Harrogate called Punk Rock Politics.
His political endgame, he said, would be to abolish the West Yorkshire mayoral position entirely in favour of a One Yorkshire devolution package, which he said would have benefits for the whole county, including Harrogate.
The 1919 performing in Germany
His band, the 1919, have toured across Europe and South America, but coronavirus has put a stop to any gigging for now.
But Goldhammer said that his bid for mayor gives him a platform to highlight the plight of the live event industry, which has been decimated by coronavirus.
He added:
“It’s an absolute killer not having live events. Do we want to live in a world without arts, music and theatre? I don’t think we do. This at least gives me an opportunity to draw some attention to some of the problems musicians are facing.”
And if he does gain power in West Yorkshire, he said he’d never lose sight of his humble beginnings.
“I hope I’d never get to the stage where I’d forget what it’s like to look for what bread is reduced by 20p in the supermarket!”
