Bamburgh councillor Guy Renner-Thompson will be the Conservative candidate in the race to the first mayor of the new North East Combined Authority.

Coun Renner-Thompson, currently the children's and education chief at Northumberland County Council, has beaten rivals understood to include Sedgefield MP Paul Howell and Sunderland councillor Chris Burnicle to get the nod for next May's election. He joins confirmed candidates Kim McGuinness (Labour) and Jamie Driscoll (Independent).

Mr Driscoll, who is currently mayor of the soon-to-be-replaced North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) had sought the Labour nomination but was blocked from standing. Instead, he has been crowdfunding a campaign. Candidates from other parties including the Liberal Democrats have yet to be announced.

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Coun Renner-Thompson - who has been a councillor in Northumberland since 2017 - was selected by North East Conservative members on Sunday November 26. He lives in Bamburgh and studied at Newcastle University. He has spoken of aiming to focus on pledges such as creating a new Mayoral Development Corporation, a regional transport strategy, and a grant scheme to support small businesses.

Coun Thompson said: “As someone from the North East, it is an honour to be selected as the Conservative candidate to try to become the first North East Mayor. This is a huge job and a huge opportunity for the whole region to grow and thrive and one I’m passionate about.

"I know this is an election we can win especially with a good set of ideas and ideals. The new Mayor will have all the right tools to be able to get the investment the region needs, but it’s about getting the right person in to pull these levers. If elected Mayor, I will deliver for all of the North East and be a champion for the area here, and across the world."

The election for the North East Mayor takes place on May 2, 2024. The authority will cover Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.

The proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority - which has now been ratified by the seven local authorities under its purview -will come into being on May 7, 2024. The existing NTCA and non-mayoral North East Combined Authority will be abolished. The initial £4.2bn investment package attached to the 30-year devolution deal includes:

• An investment fund of £1.4bn, or £48m a year, to support economic growth and regeneration;
• Around £60m a year for adult education and skills;
• A £900m package of transport investment;
• £69m of investment in housing and regeneration.

It is hoped that the deal will create 24,000 new jobs and unlock an additional £5bn in private sector investment. A public consultation earlier this year showed majority support for the deal in each of the seven areas, though there was disappointment about the public response rate – with just 3,235 submissions from a population of roughly two million people.