Jamie Driscoll banned from standing for re-election as Mayor.

The Labour Party has refused to allow the highly popular Jamie Driscoll mayor for North of Tyne to be on the longlist for the new north-east region mayoralty.

No reason was given as Labour’s bureaucracy continues to axe candidates with a smidgeon of socialism.

It transpired that the pretext was that Driscoll had appeared publicly with the film maker Ken Loach.

Ken Loach made three films set in the North East, Jamie Driscoll’s region.  In March this year, Newcastle Theatre staged a conversation between the two in the series “Live Encounters”.

Following the announcement of his banning, Jamie Driscoll was invited on BBC Newsnight and asked brusquely:  During your conversation with Ken Loach, did you challenge him on his views on antisemitism?  To which Driscoll could only respond, that of course not, it was not the time or place.

The BBC itself proves that: on the same day as that conversation, BBC North East interviewed Ken Loach in a perfectly amiable manner about his films set in the region.  No challenge there.

What Driscoll has achieved.

The Guardian journalist Aditya Chakrabortty, writing about this, reminisces when back in 2019 in the Northumberland coastal town of Newbiggin

“I watched this stubbly, scruffy, upbeat outsider doorknock around an estate of small houses and exotic garden statuettes, to a reaction chillier than the wind whipping in from the North Sea. For decades, this had been Labour country, where that political tradition ran through the local economy, its institutions and people’s very identities. But over the past 50 years all that had been destroyed and now it was the land of Vote Leave, desolate and nihilistic. If residents spoke to canvassers at all, it was to spit out statements like “I don’t follow politics”.

After more slammed doors, one activist sighed: “Policy doesn’t matter here. They’ve forgotten what government can do.” For all Driscoll’s ideas and energy, I wrote at the time, his biggest challenge would be closing the vast gulf between the governed and their governors.”

Driscoll has created jobs in the area; he has taken steps to ‘close the vast gulf between the governed and their governors.’  He has actually played a part in levelling up. 

Starmer it seems will stop at nothing to appear ‘safe’ and more conservative than the Conservatives.   If he dares to open his mouth to advocate ‘levelling up’, people might remember his treatment of one with an admirable record in this field.