Jamie Driscoll for North East Mayor

Hi,

We hit our £25k target in under 2 hours. Amazing! Thank you so much for your support. We are within touching distance of our £150k target.

*This fundraiser was started by the Campaign Team for Jamie Driscoll. All monies raised will be given to Jamie Driscoll's official Campaign Fund, to be used for his campaign expenses for the North East Mayoral election in 2024 in accordance with Electoral Commission rules.

What’s this about?

Hundreds of people have asked me to run for North East Mayor. The election is May 2024. I’m North of Tyne Mayor now, but the Labour Party HQ in London has blocked me for factional reasons – and people are outraged.

The cry for me to stand as an independent has become louder and louder. From business leaders, community workers, trade unionists and people from every political party. They say the North East needs an experienced independent voice.

Even if you don’t live in the North East, this affects you. Our politics is a mess and millions of people feel no one speaks for them. Politicians should answer to the electorate – not to party bosses in London HQs. The only ‘whip’ should be the people.

But: as an independent I won’t have a national press office behind me, or big money donors. So I’ll need to get the message out to the people.

A full campaign will cost at least £150,000. I believe in listening to the public – so if you donate £25,000 by the end of August, I promise I’ll run. And I don’t hit that target, I won’t run. This decision is in your hands.

As North East Mayor I’ll deliver a Total Transport Network, create a job for everyone who wants one, and deliver a Green New Deal. Find out more on my website https://jamiedriscoll.co.uk/

My track record shows what’s possible. I’ve been North of Tyne Mayor since 2019. Despite the pandemic and national economic chaos, my team and I work with businesses to create over 5,000 new jobs, backed by our Good Work Pledge. We’ve built affordable homes in urban and rural areas. Implemented a Green New Deal and invested in offshore wind. And delivered our Child Poverty Prevention Programme, hailed as an exemplar of best practice.

I put results first – I work cross-party and don’t play daft political games. That’s how I landed our new expanded devolution deal to unite the North and South of the Tyne. It gets us £billions to improve our region’s transport system.

I’ve claimed £0 in expenses and have no mayoral car – I use public transport, walk, and cycle.

You’d think the Labour Leadership would shout about my integrity and success – but instead they said members could not vote for me, and took me off the longlist without explanation. When push comes to shove, these days, they only want candidates who’ll do what they’re told by Party HQ.

I didn’t become a politician until I was 48. I’m an engineer. Fixing broken systems is what I do.

I value patriotism – and believe it’s expressed by public service, not xenophobia. My Dad drove a tank in the army, my brother served in the navy at the time of the Falklands.

My politics are simple – Britain should be run in the interests of the people who do the work. Including those unable to work, and retired from a lifetime of work. It's not left-wing. It's not right-wing. It's common sense.

Independents have won mayoral elections many times. Most famously, after Labour stitched up Ken Livingston to stop him running for London Mayor in 2000, he won by a landslide: 667,877 to Labour’s 223,884.

This is not a time for faint hearts. It’s a time for bravery. If you back me, I will run. If I run, we can win. Shy bairns get nowt.

Best wishes,

Jamie

P.S. Please also use the share button and tell your friends. Even if they don’t donate, it spreads the word.

P.P.S. We will respect your privacy if you wish to donate in private. If you want to donate over £1500, please get in touch because certain Electoral Commission rules apply. Go Fund Me doesn't allow us to share email addresses. But contact details are on our website https://jamiedriscoll.co.uk/contact/

*Any excess monies from my campaign fund will be donated to food banks in the North East.