Blog

Leave No One Behind

The new series of The Crown has started on Netflix, covering the 1980s – the Thatcher Years. Gillian Anderson’s performance is superb, portraying Mrs Thatcher’s views on Life, the Universe and Everything. People should help themselves, women are too emotional to be trusted, and people should stop waiting for the Nanny State (or anyone else) […]

Great North Eastern Railways, We hope

The North East’s rail network has an unusual geography. We’re almost an island – the only routes in or out are the East Coast Mainline, or the track to Carlisle. With all the talk of high speed rail, the biggest problem we face is capacity. There’s no advantage to a train capable of 255mph if […]

A Fair Days Pay For a Fair Days Work

In my first few months in office, I made the North of Tyne an accredited Living Wage employer. We’re a small organisation, mainly highly skilled workers already on more than £9.30 an hour. But it did affect the cleaners, receptionists and security staff who maintain the building. We also have a gender pay gap of […]

The North will Remember

On September 18th, the North East’s council leaders and I asked government for the powers to impose additional restrictions. We knew that cases were rising. We knew that government’s insistence on keeping universities open, with face-to-face teaching was a mistake. Government did nothing, so we did what we could. And it worked, as well as […]

A Million Reasons to Act…

   Unprecedented times demand unprecedented measures. That’s the gist of a new report on youth employment published last week by the Alliance for Full Employment. Youth Report: A Million Reasons to Act is based on a study by Professor Paul Gregg from Bath University. He warns that as many as one million young people will […]

Standing up for the North

A week is a long time in a pandemic.Last Friday, (9th Oct), a meeting with Number 10 mysteriously popped into my calendar. Ministers wanted to talk to me and my Local Authority colleagues about the new Tier system. Later that afternoon, as I logged into the video conference, it got cancelled. Eventually there was a […]

Zero Carbon Now ?

There shall be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repenteth than over ninety-nine just persons. It’s good to see the Prime Minister contradicting his 2013 statement that “wind farms couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding.” Or, presumably, an Eton mess. So I’m delighted that he intends to invest £160m for all […]

Invest To Save

Boilers on prescription might not sound like an obvious link to radical devolution. But it’s a strategy that GPs working with housing provider Gentoo implemented in Sunderland in 2016. And it worked. The scheme allowed GPs to “prescribe” new, efficient boilers and home insulation to patients suffering respiratory conditions and living in damp, cold homes. […]

A Green New Deal For All

Unemployment is the worst of the economic scourges. Pundits obsess about debt-to-GDP ratio, interest rates, inflation targets, and trade imbalances. But it’s unemployment that fuels anxiety, crushes mental health and lays waste to communities. Having citizens unable to earn a living is a blight on prosperity. So Rishi Sunak was right to take action. But […]

Look After Each Other

The first duty of any government is to keep its people safe. In the absence of any leadership from Matt Hancock, Michael Gove or Boris Johnson, the North East’s Covid cases were doubling every week. Our local public health teams identified the transmission hotspots and asked central government to bring in some limited restrictions. This […]

Track and Trace the Corruption

How would you feel if someone broke the law, took £480 of your money, and spent it secretly? In under six months, Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have spent £10 billion on Test & Trace and £15 billion on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). That’s a staggering sum. It’s £480 per UK adult. Hanbury Strategy is […]

We May All Be Daniel Blake

If a week is a long time in politics, a year is an age. An independent documentary crew asked if they could film my first year in office. Last week, I saw the final edit. The contrast between last summer and now was marked. Gone are the busy rooms, handshakes, and meetings. Now everyone I […]

Stand with Extinction Rebellion, because you might be next

“Extinction Rebellion could be treated as an organised crime group as part of a major crackdown on its activities that may also include new protections for MPs, judges and the press, The Telegraph can disclose.” Boris Johnson and Priti Patel are calling for Extinction Rebellion to be classified as “serious organised crime”.  Some Tories are […]

Auf Weidersehen Locally Produced News ?

Auf Weidersehen, Pet was a landmark of my childhood. First broadcast in the depths of the Thatcher recession, when I was in secondary school. The North East had lost a hundred thousand jobs in manufacturing. And along came this show with Geordie bricklayers like Dennis, Neville and Oz. It was a programme about hard working […]

Education for Children not Government

“Politicians are terrified of U-turns. They look indecisive” I wrote two months ago. The sound of screeching tyres accompanied last week’s handbrake turn. Boris Johnson and Gavin Williamson were adamant that Ofqual’s algorithm was “robust”. Until they suddenly declared it was all Ofqual’s fault. I wonder what grade our school leavers, parents and teachers would […]

Get on top of the Virus

t was announced last week that we’re officially in a recession. In other news, the Pope is a Catholic. More than a million and a half people have signed-on in the past few months. Many more don’t claim. I spoke to one lad, perhaps in his late thirties. “I didn’t bother signing on,” he told […]

Our Final Warning

Phew what a scorcher! Global temperatures are rising. We know that. What most people don’t realise is the urgency. The United Nations IPCC says that to avoid severe climate breakdown, we must limit global heating to 1.5 degrees. Mark Lynas details the effects in his new book: Our Final Warning. We’re already at 1 degree. […]

The benefits of a happy workforce

In my late thirties I signed up for a fitness challenge. A load of my twenty-something martial arts friends joined in. To get maximum points, you had to do twenty pull-ups, one hundred sit-ups in two minutes, and run three miles in 18 minutes. Maybe it was a midlife crisis. It was certainly cheaper than […]

A meal deal not for the masses

 A fortnight ago, Boris Johnson compared himself to US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR’s New Deal turned round the economic collapse of the Great Depression. He created the first ever US state pensions and unemployment insurance. He promoted collective bargaining, improving wages and working conditions. The Public Works Administration built dams, bridges, schools and hospitals. […]

Devolution is about Democracy

I was listening to radio last week, and on came Michael Heseltine, bigging-up Metro Mayors. He name-checked our work in Newcastle. It ‘s a funny feeling for a Labour politician, getting praised by a Tory grandee. It’s heartening to have your good work recognised. It’s good in electoral terms. An opposition politician saying you’re doing […]

“Please sir , I want some more”.

“Please sir, I want some more”. Oliver Twist sums up the relationship between central government and the North. There’s a dependency on grants from Westminster, often tied in with the electoral cycle. Restrictions come from Whitehall on to how to spend it, with priorities optimised for the Home Counties. Oliver needed the handouts because the […]

Hunger in the UK

Politicians are terrified of U-turns.  They look indecisive.    200,000 kids have had to skip meals because their family couldn’t afford enough food during lockdown.  Yet thanks to England footballer Marcus Rashford, 1.3 million kids will now get fed this summer.  When the cupboards are bare, that £15-a-week voucher will stop kids becoming malnourished.    […]

Culture for the Soul

Culture is the sum total of how we express ourselves as humans. Culture is our collective soul. For some it’s theatre, museums, art galleries, opera. For others, a live music gig, a beer festival or a home game. I don’t see culture as a “sector”, an opportunity for economic growth. We can live in concrete […]

Vandalism by Chequebook

I’m sure health and safety officials would have a lot to say – I doubt anyone completed a risk assessment form.  But the toppling of the Edward Colston statue looked peaceful.  And remarkably well organised.  I wasn’t there, but I’ve seen no reports that anyone got hurt.  No looting, no arson.  No riot.  I have seen reports that the police handled […]

Black lives Matter

 Why is it that when someone supports #BlackLivesMatter, someone replies, “All lives matter!” If someone told you, “I’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer,” you wouldn’t reply, “Well some people get prostate cancer!” The protests in America are the confluence of three recent killings of black citizens by US Law Enforcement Officers. On 25th February this year, […]

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It’s not often that Spaghetti Western titles provide a framework for economic analysis. But this sums up the choices facing the economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. We went into this crisis with a quarter of our people getting paid less than they need to live on, a […]

Government by Toddler

Getting dressed after the shower, Leon sidles up to me, “Daddy my cwayon has bwoke.” The boys were three and one at the time. “Oh dear, how’d you do that, son?” “It bwoke on the wall.” A dash downstairs found Nelson in full Neolithic cave-art mode. Navy blue Crayloa on magnolia emulsion. Celtic swirls decorating […]

Jamie Driscoll urges government to ensure rough sleepers don’t return to streets after lockdown

North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll has urged the Government to ensure emergency measures to end rough sleeping continue once the lockdown is over.  The Government’s £3.2 million “Everyone In” scheme has helped get 4,500 rough sleepers off the streets, often by housing them in hotels. But it’s unclear how long the policy will last, or […]

Billionaires are not inevitable

“Our secret superpower is our ability to cooperate”. (18-05-20) Not my words, but from a great new book, Human kind : A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman.  You may remember him, he’s the guy who called out the super-rich at Davos last year, telling them to pay their taxes.  And wondering why 1500 private jets had flown […]

Schools should not reopen until there is a guarantee it’s safe

Mayor, Jamie Driscoll speaks to the Newcastle Chronicle (15-05-20) North East employers were left “genuinely worried” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s weekend announcement that staff should go back to work, North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll says. He criticised Mr Johnson for making the announcement before guidance for firms and staff was available, and for […]

To Change Direction We Have To Change The Rules

I’m a black belt in jiu jitsu. The style I practice has one main rule – stop when someone signals they want you to stop. It’s a self-defence style, not a sport. There’s nothing fair about self-defence. You only need it when the odds are against you. You’ll only ever be attacked if the aggressor […]

So Much Achieved In Just One Year!

It’s been an amazing year and with the support of my fantastic team we’ve achieved so much. Here are the highlights.

One year as Mayor

A year ago on Thursday our people elected me Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.  I knew that building a new organisation would be a challenge.  On my first day, cameras & film crews outnumbered the staff.  But I had no idea what a rollercoaster year it would be.   In my acceptance speech, I spoke about […]

Statement on International Workers’ Memorial Day 28 April 2020

International Workers Memorial Day

“Remembering the dead, fighting for the living”.  (First published in The Newcastle Journal and The Newcastle Evening Chronicle 27 April 2020.) That’s the message from International Workers’ Memorial Day which falls tomorrow.  It’s never been more relevant. Did you know that every year more people are killed at work than in war?  Most don’t die of ‘tragic […]

Take Time To Be Human

It’s interesting which products are selling fastest. Of particular note are flour and seeds.  Both are products that need time and patience to use.  We’ll ignore crisps, alcohol and toilet roll for now.  Although if the lockdown lasts a lot longer maybe we’ll see a rise in homemade hooch. Is it because many of us […]

Understanding the Emotion of Betrayal

There are nine layers of Hell in Dante’s Inferno.  The first is for those who were not baptised.  The second for those who committed the sins of lust.  Third, gluttony.  Fourth, avarice.  Fifth, anger.  Sixth, blasphemy.  Seventh, violence.  Eight, deceivers and liars.  The ninth and final circle of Hell is reserved for traitors.  After making […]

Local Service Champions

Unison, the public sector union, calls them the UK’s “Local Service Champions”. The unsung heroes of the public sector, the thousands of council workers who provide the vital services that keep our communities running. Local government workers have always been there for us. From cradle to grave, they are the glue that holds our communities […]

Jamie Interviews The Labour Leadership Candidates

Last February, Jamie took time out of his schedule to ask the three Labour Leadership all manner of questions, ranging from trust in politics, the democratic revolution, how best to deal with press vilification and…Top Cat. Take a look. Rebecca Long-Bailey Lisa Nandy Keir Starmer

It is time to put wellbeing ahead of growth

What do the prime ministers of New Zealand, Iceland, and Finland have in common? In a word, wellbeing.  I gave a speech last week on inclusive economic growth.  Over the centuries, kings and ministers have steered their policies towards different goals.  Pharaoh Ozymandias put his realm to work building monuments to impress his rivals.  Ancient […]

Twenty-Twenty Vision

Twenty twenty has a ring to it.  Last year was politically turbulent.  In the North of Tyne, though, we just got on with delivering prosperity for our people.  I’ve been Mayor for eight months.  Much of 2019 involved setting up a brand new combined authority.  Recruiting staff, building relationships, and getting our first programmes underway.  […]

The High Street of Christmas Yet to Come

What do you call an old snowman? Water! Ah, Christmas cracker jokes.  I love Christmas.  I’m not a religious man but Christmas embodies so many traditions core to my beliefs.  Family and friends.  Helping each other out. Communities coming together to sing carols.  Taking time to cook a good meal, and the time to eat […]

Stop The Poverty

“It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to be afraid.”  So says the song.  This Christmas, like every year, millions in our country will be working.  Emergency services, NHS staff, catering and hospitality workers.  Taxi drivers, people staffing petrol stations.   And for many people who work, and many who can’t get reliable work, the money […]

Paul Mason – Where Next After Corbynism: A Reply

In the final paragraph of Paul Mason’s thesis he name checks me, saying we need to be “learning from Jamie Driscoll’s mayoral campaign on North Tyneside.”  Thanks for the nod, Paul.  What did we do to warrant this reference?  In one sense, we didn’t do anything special.  We just did lots of simple things right.  […]

Where does this result leave democracy?

My Dad would shout at the players during the football, “Just put the ball in back of the bloody net!” My brother and I would laugh. “You should write to him and suggest it.” I’m reminded of this when people say “Labour should have won more seats.” Post election analysis is often one dimensional. People […]

Lessons from the 2019 General Election

Most of the analysis I’m reading about the election defeat is not analysis, but schadenfreude.  I sometimes write polemics, and sometimes calls to arms, but today, let’s start with some facts, shall we? Here’s the last five elections.  Total votes cast for Labour, and the percentage of the electorate at the time that voted Labour.  […]

How Do Labour’s votes compare to recent elections?

Here’s an updated one with vote share as a percentage of the electorate. Percentage of the electorate is more useful than percentage of votes cast. The challenge for Labour is to win over voters who’ve voted for other parties, to get out our base, and to inspire non-voters to turn out.

There but for the grace of god go I

Your task is to design a society.  Its tax systems, justice, education, health, and so on.  But there’s a twist.  You don’t know in advance what part you will play in that society.  Philosophers call this a Veil of Ignorance.  You don’t know your gender, race, age, height.  Whether you’ll have a disability.  You might […]

The banks get it. The kids get it. Do you get it?

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs” starts Rudyard Kipling’s poem If-. “Then perhaps it’s because you don’t understand the situation…” continues the joke. On Monday, I met with Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England. We touched on many things, including making our economy sustainable.   He […]

Did you ever have control to take back?

What would taking back control mean to you? Maybe you’ve piled on a few pounds over recent years, and want to take back control over your health. Perhaps it’s wrestling back some work-life balance, returning to that hobby you did when you were younger. If that’s the only part of your life out of control, […]

The town with lessons to share about devolution

On Tuesday I was due to meet Chancellor Sajid Javid in Parliament, to discuss devolving budgets to Metro Mayors.  I was due to meet John McDonnell and his team immediately afterwards – it would have made an interesting comparison, since we won’t get to see Mr Javid debate Mr McDonnell.  Saj has refused; perhaps because […]

The right to fulfilling work

This week is Living Wage Week.  23% of working people in our region don’t earn enough to live on without getting into debt.  The figure is set by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: £9 per hour.  Crucially, it applies to everyone – the national minimum wage is only £7.70 if you’re under 25, and £4.35 if […]

I’ve got two new kids. Apparently.

“Do you have another two kids you haven’t told me about?” laughed my wife. “Eh?” She explained, “It says on Wikipedia we have four children.” A more interesting question might be why she was looking me up on Wikipedia while I was sitting next to her in the living room.  The article was neutral – […]

Sorry We Missed You

Ken Loach has a gift of cutting through the statistics and hitting you in the heart.  This Wednesday he invited me along to the Newcastle premiere of his latest film, Sorry We Missed You. Without giving any spoilers, Abby works as a carer, Ricky as a “self employed” delivery driver under unremitting pressure to hit […]

The Blame Game

Leadership is difficult to quantify.  It should be a defining characteristic in our politicians, a blend of gravitas, consistent values, integrity, and the courage to stand firm when others flinch.  We’ve seen real leadership this week, but it’s come from footballers.  Last Monday’s Euro Qualifier saw 26 year-old Tyrone Mings stand strong against monkey chants […]

The Queen’s Speech

Today is the Queen’s Speech.  Perhaps Boris Johnson will actually win his first Commons vote as Prime Minister.  For a man who is so opposed to socialism, he spends a lot of time getting publicly owned.  I don’t know why we still pretend that the speech belongs to the Queen.  I’ve never met her; I’m […]

World Mental Health Day

“Health, wealth and happiness!” is the toast we’ve all heard.  Mental health defines two of these, and impacts on the third.  In May, Tyne and Wear Citizens held a Mayoral hustings at the Tyne Theatre, 1000 people attended.  The host asked everyone to stand up; a thousand people got to their feet.  She then said, […]

It’s all about the power

Last Monday I was in Manchester when the Tory Party conference was in town.  I haven’t crossed the floor, it was a meeting of the M9.  It sounds like something from a Bond film.  Whenever we meet I think of SPECTRE – me and the other 8 Metro Mayors sitting round a huge table, working […]

Labour Conference Blog

Like most high-profile occupations, politics looks different from the inside.  The TV news shows Labour Party conference as sound-bites from a packed conference hall.  But for every high-profile policy announcement, there’s two dozen fringe events spread across Brighton, a hundred private meetings huddled around tables in hotel bars, and politicians and advisors scurrying around finishing […]

A People’s Bank Explained

Banks are essential to a modern economy.   Banks keep money flowing.  Cash machines, direct debits, card payments, and other transactional functions.  Then there’s savings, mortgages and loans – if you had to save up and pay cash, no one would ever be able to afford a house, and businesses would struggle to expand.  The economy […]

Newcastle can be the capital of a new, radical British politics

Ah, that rare thing: a political speech served straight, with no side of hyperbole. One of the most interesting developments in politics so far this year is set to happen not in Westminster, but 300 miles up the A1. On 2 May, voters from Newcastle right up to Berwick can elect their first ever North […]

The Bridge Tax & Public Transport

There are few sights more iconic than the bridges over the Tyne.  They’re famous, and represent the ingenuity and industrial skill we’re known for.  We should not be charging people to use them.  We have an air pollution problem, and it needs fixing. The government’s answer? To force local councils to put an extra charge […]

Kia Kaha. Truth and love will win.

I was horrified to hear about the murders in Christchurch. I’ve been fighting racism and the far-right all my life, through education, community outreach and direct action. My thoughts go out to the injured and the families of those killed. My thoughts go out to those terrified going to Friday prayers for fear of similar […]

John McDonnell is backing me – so is Noam Chomsky

Could there be any better endorsement of my socialist economic policies than John McDonnell, Laura Pidcock and Clive Lewis – all Labour economics front benchers?

A Green New Deal

As Mayor I will: Declare a Climate Emergency Build eco-friendly social housing and plant trees Create a community owned green energy company Tackle food waste and food poverty Provide world class environmental education “There’s no challenge that we face more critical than addressing the dire threat of global warming.  NASA has just reported that of […]

Municipal Socialism – We Can Start Now

Right now, there’s a Labour internal selection going on across Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.  I’m on the shortlist as the possible Labour candidate for North of Tyne Mayor.  I’m a grassroots activist.  I worked on both of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaigns.  This is one of the Metro-Mayor deals.  It’s not about running the bin […]

A majority of CLPs are backing JD4Mayor

The first phase of the campaign is over.  All of the CLPs (Constituency Labour Parties) have voted now, and a majority of CLPs have backed me.  The support has been overwhelming.  Even the CLPs who didn’t back me, the vote was close, and tied in some cases.  At the time of writing, I also have […]

Why Our Economy is Broken

Why Our Economy is Broken. When I grew up in the 1970s, photocopiers were so advanced that my school didn’t have one. When I started work in 1986 the company I worked for didn’t have a computer, we had people whose only job was to type up things the rest of us had written with […]

Questions for Jamie

People have asked questions via our Facebook page, so here’s a video of me answering them. Everything from rural regeneration to clean air zone charging gets covered. And there’s even a disappearing dog walker! We’ll do this regularly throughout the campaign, and it’s something I’ll continue to do if selected and elected. It’s important that […]

It’s Christmas Time

“It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to be afraid.”  So says the song.  This Christmas, like every year, millions in our country will be working.  Emergency services, NHS staff, catering and hospitality workers, taxi drivers, people staffing petrol stations, to name just some.  And for many people who work, and many who can’t get […]

Why Do We Have A Housing Crisis?

Private rents are so high that people have in any given year to work from January 1st until 31st May to earn enough to pay the year’s rent. That’s nearly half a year’s hard graft going on rent. Since the 1970’s, median wages have pretty much remained at the same level – once you account […]

Weathercocks and Signposts

Normally what happens to politicians is the closer they get to the levers of power, the more attention they get from the establishment.  Sitting in board meetings, appointments with corporate lobbyists, calls from government officials take up a bigger and bigger part of their calendar.  All of these people who court them are well informed, […]