I’m Guy Renner-Thompson and I’m your Conservative candidate.
The North East is a region with a proud history. Celts, Romans, and Vikings. The Cradle of Christianity, The Dukes Of Northumberland and the Prince Bishops of Durham. The home of the Industrial Revolution and the Welfare State. The North East has been leading Britain for centuries.
Our new Devolution Deal, delivered by your Conservative Government, is the next chapter in our long story. The deal unlocks £4.2 billion of investment and transfers power from Whitehall to local leaders with real knowledge of what our communities need and want.
I am one of those local leaders. I was born here. Went to my local school here. Run my construction business here. I will always stand up for the North East like I’ve stood up for Bamburgh, the community I was elected to represent in 2017. My family have lived and worked around Blyth and Whitley Bay for generations.
The Government expects the deal will create 24,000 extra jobs, create 70,000 skills courses to get people into good jobs and leverage £5.0 billion of private sector investment. But I know we can do better than that.
I’m a Conservative because I know our party is the party of aspiration and opportunity. The party of the hand up, not the handout. The party of hard-working people who want to be able to own their own house, send their children to a good school and live in a safe neighbourhood. And for too long the Labour Party has failed those people in the North East and taken the region for granted.
As the Councillor responsible for education in Northumberland I’ve overseen our schools climbing the league tables. Under Labour in 2017 only 76% of schools were being rated ‘Good’ or ’Outstanding’. Now that figure is 95%. I’ve started employer forums and opened world-class manufacturing training facilities, which industry leaders have said are the best training facilities in the country. I want to expand this upgrade in education across the region.
Our region is unique. Deep water ports give our industry access to the world. Our universities are global leaders in their fields. Our beautiful countryside helps feed the nation and attracts millions of visitors every year.
But there is still work to do. I am a proven local politician with a track record of improving lives. I can lead the North East into a thriving future to live, work and raise a family.
