New Labour mayor says people in Scarborough and coastal areas will ‘get a lot of support’

Speaking just after the results were announced on the afternoon of Friday May 3, Labour’s David Skaith said he would focus on supporting people living in coastal areas.

At the vote count in his home town of Harrogate, Mr Skaith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We are going to do a lot of work to support people on the coast, they’ve been cut off for a long time, we know we have great difficulties in transport connections.”

The highly contested election saw Labour win a 14,000 vote majority with 66,701 votes while Conservative Keane Duncan came second with 51,967 votes.

There was an overall turnout of 29 per cent out of 640,012 people who are registered to vote in York and North Yorkshire.

Mr Skaith said: “We need to be investing on the coast, we need to be building affordable homes, and getting that connectivity so people can move between Scarborough and York, we need to make it joined up.”

He added: “We’ll be working collectively and now we have this opportunity with York and North Yorkshire together, we’ll be able to look at the whole region because that’s how we are going to make the change we need.”

Almost 500 staff were counting the votes across the county with 140 staff at two locations in Scarborough

Mr Skaith will head the new combined authority which has been created by the City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council to use some of the money and powers previously held by the Government.

He will lead investment of at least £540 million over the next 30 years and will take on the role and responsibilities of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

During his campaign, David Skaith made five main election pledges, promising to:

• Deliver a cost-of-living recovery plan
• Fight for more GP and dentist appointments
• Tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in urban, rural, and coastal areas
• Connect communities with a new transport system
• Champion York and North Yorkshire and attract new investment

Conservative candidate Keane Duncan told the LDRS he wished the new mayor “the very best of luck” adding that he was happy to offer his support if it was needed.

Mr Duncan, who pledged to buy Scarborough’s Grand Hotel with public money if elected, said it was “over to the mayor to decide” whether to pursue the policy.

He added that he felt “privileged to stand in this election and I thank everyone who supported me”.

Some of the key issues raised during the election by voters on the coast included concerns about a lack of affordable housing, the impacts of tourism, and ensuring future investment.

Many residents said they wanted to see improvements to local and regional transport links, with some describing feeling “trapped” in their villages, while concerns about environmental issues including pollution were frequently raised.

Kevin Foster, the Green Party candidate who came fourth in the election, said “it is now time for North Yorkshire to get behind David Skaith” and called on the mayor to “look at the decaying coast… and end the coastal erosion”.

He told the LDRS: “It’s a massive job and people on the coast need to tell him how it is.”

The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which launched on February 1, to introduce benefits ranging from “new and better-paid jobs and improved skills and training to more affordable housing”.

A total of six candidates stood for election, and the results were:

• David Skaith, The Labour and Co-operative Party – 66,761 votes.
• Keane Duncan, The Conservative Party – 51,967 votes.
• Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, Liberal Democrats – 30,867 votes.
• Kevin Foster, The Green Party – 15,188 votes.
• Paul Haslam, Independent – 12,370 votes.
• Keith Tordoff, Independent – 13,250 votes.