Electing someone to represent you can be tricky. It requires you to examine the person’s character as much as the policies they put forward. It’s not long until the voters of North Yorkshire decide who they want to be mayor of the new devolved region of York and North Yorkshire. With six candidates standing, it is important to look at what motivates them and what they hope to achieve if they are elected.
I’ve spoken to nearly all six candidates standing to find out who they are and what are their policies. Although Keith Tordoff is standing as an independent candidate, he is backed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. He spoke to me just before the BBC’s York and North Yorkshire Mayoral debate.
Meeting Keith Tordoff
The first question I wanted to ask Tordoff was, what made him decide to stand to be a candidate for York and North Yorkshire Mayor?
“Well, I’ve put myself forward, as I did in 2021 as the independent candidate for Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner because I want to improve society and help young people. I come from a background of having served as a police officer, been a community champion and received an MBE.”
“I’d never stood for anything politically prior to 2021 and then, as now, I stood as an independent because I believe the role should be independent of politics and politicians – it is a role designed for someone to act and serve the people of the community.”
Tordoff and the role of mayor
Tordoff is standing as an independent, but is endorsed by Reform UK. I therefore wondered what his main priorities would be?
“Well, the first main priority as far as I see it, is to listen to people,” he said “And that’s what I’ll do in the first hundred days – listen to people from around the area, take a sounding from organisations across the region, get to hear what people think on housing, transport all the various key areas.”
“I will as mayor appoint a deputy who will be the Policy, Fire and Crime Commissioner ensuring that role is done with due diligence to the people of the area. I also want to be clear that from day one I will stop waste. I mean at the moment there seems to be two offices in place for the mayor, one in Northallerton and one in York.”
The Mayor needs only one office
“To me, that’s sending out a poor message because it’s wasting money, and it isn’t making it clear where the mayor is based. In these financially difficult times, I think it’s important, for people who are struggling to know that their money is being spent properly. That’s why I’ll have one office and it will be in York because York is [the] capital of the region. I’ll base myself there and make [it] clear that I’m there for people. That sends out a message that I’m doing things. You know people are just fed up with waste – we’ve got over 188 members of staff in the North Yorkshire Combined Authority on over £100,000 a year; we’ve got to look at things and make sure that money isn’t being wasted. We need someone who will be independent and will work with Northallerton Council, will work with City of York Council and will not roll over for political purposes. I believe I am that person.”
The economy of North Yorkshire
Moving on to the economy of the region, I wanted to know what Tordoff’s priorities would be if elected to help the economy of North Yorkshire – what did he see as his priorities there and how could he as mayor improve the economy of the area?
“As a businessman, who has run small successful businesses I know what is needed,” he began “I’m often connected with the Oldest Sweet Shop (The Oldest Sweet Shop in the World, based in Pateley Bridge and first established in 1827) which people often think of as just a sweet shop but they forget there was a mail order business element to it as well. I’ve also run a car sales business in Leeds and property companies as well. I’m not connected with any of these businesses anymore, I’d like to make that clear – but they give me an insight into how businesses are run and what they need.”
Arguing for more funding
Tordoff went on to explain that as mayor he would go to the government and argue that the tier three package of the York and North Yorkshire devolution plan was not enough and work on renegotiating it, focussing on extra money for housing and improvements to the road network. Tordoff also promised to set up a mayoral fund, separate from the £18 million that the government has already provided for the devolution plan, which businesses, charities and charitable trusts could contribute to which would be used to fund projects from sports fields and cricket pitches to funds needed for Scarborough town centre.
“This is the difference between me and all the other candidates, who are all councillors or politicians,” Tordoff emphasised, “I’m a businessman. I know how to negotiate, and I know how to create a successful organisation.”
Transport across North Yorkshire
Coming to the end of the interview, I asked Tordoff what he would do to improve transport in North Yorkshire – how would he ensure that people across the region had greater access to improved forms of travel?
“Looking at the road network first,” he began “that needs to be sorted out. It’s filled with potholes and it’s dangerous to motorists. If it isn’t good enough it just can’t deliver. We need to look at cycle ways as well and I don’t mean half-baked ones that last for only a hundred yards. We need a proper transport plan, and I will work with experts to deliver that, ideally in the first hundred days. It will be a comprehensive and integrated plan.”
“I want to ensure within those hundred days that we bring in things that will make it easier for people across the region given, as we’ve mentioned, the cost-of-living crisis. Things like free travel for under 18s because we need to help young people go to colleges, universities, see their friends etc and I think that is deliverable straight away. We need integrated systems, and that’s why I want to work with mayors in the North East and West Yorkshire to integrate the system, to look at a one-ticket-for-all approach – cutting costs and giving people access to the whole of the region. I’ve done things like this before working with bus companies to keep open bus routes that would otherwise have been closed and introduce bus services run by charitable organisations that still run to this day.”
“It’s not just about talking for me,” Tordoff concluded, “It’s about delivering, and I have a proven track record of delivering.”
Vote on 2 May
Tordoff is a very passionate and committed individual who wants to stand out from other mayors if elected mayor of the region. Tordoff’s independence may be questioned by some given he is backed by Reform UK – however he is not a candidate for the party but one supported by them.
Regardless of who you plan on voting for, make sure you have the requisite ID and get out there and vote on the 2nd of May to choose the mayor you think York and North Yorkshire deserves.
