North East Mayoral Candidate Jeremy Middleton has announced that if elected he would refuse any salary offered to him for the role, along with any expenses.
Jeremy, who recently stated that he intends to stand as an independent candidate, and that politicians should work in the interests of the region rather than political parties, has announced that, if elected as Mayor of the North East, he would donate any salary for the role to local charities.
Hitting out at the ‘jobs for the boys’ culture in politics, North East LEP Board Member Jeremy also announced that as mayor he would appoint an all-voluntary cabinet to advise him, made up of senior figures from the public and private sectors, who would also receive no salary or expenses.
Jeremy said: “If elected as Mayor of the North East I will not receive a single penny in salary, allowances or expenses; not one penny. If it is decided that the mayor will have a salary, I will donate this to North East charities. Our region does not need more career politicians on the payroll.
“The political establishment in the North East has largely been made up of the same people pushing the same party political lines for years. When you couple this with the fact that decisions about our region are being made in Westminster by pen pushers and politicians with few links to our part of the country, it is no wonder that people are fed up.
“If we are going to have faith in politics ever again we need to get rid of the culture of ‘jobs for the boys’ and break the status quo, by bringing in new people and fresh ideas. As mayor, I would appoint a voluntary cabinet to advise me, made up of the brightest and most passionate supporters of the North East, from the public, private and voluntary sectors. This would be separate from the combined authority, which made up of the mayor and council leaders, to keep it free of vested interests.
“North East Devolution is happening, so now people of all political persuasions need to work together to make it a success. Manchester has already embraced devolution and it now has the highest rate of economic growth in the country.”