Harrogate politicians react to ‘astonishing’ Labour win in York and North Yorkshire mayoral election

But David Skaith knew he would be the first mayor of the region before he even got to the stage when he gave a knowing wink to his team ahead of the announcement.

In the end, it wasn’t even close as Mr Skaith defeated second place Keane Duncan of the Conservatives by almost 15,000 votes.

The mayor will lead the new York and North Yorkshire combined authority, which will work closely with North Yorkshire Council on issues like transport, housing and business.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to several North Yorkshire Council councillors who attended the count at Harrogate Convention Centre today (Friday), including Monika Slater (Liberal Democrat, Bilton Grange & New Park) and Philip Broadbank (Liberal Democrat, Starbeck & Fairfax).

Coun Broadbank said despite it seeming like Keane Duncan was the favourite to win the race at one point, it was a question of anyone but Conservative when voters got to the ballot box.

He said the new mayor will have to make the budget of £18m go a long way as he believes North Yorkshire should have got a better devolution deal.

Coun Broadbank said: “This £560m they were offering. Over 30 years it’s not a great deal. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Coun Slater said she believed voters were put off by Keane Duncan’s policy announcements such as pledging to buy the Grand Hotel in Scarborough.

She said: “The claims became less and less based in reality and the public could see he was making promises he couldn’t deliver.

“At North Yorkshire Council we’re looking at tough decisions about what parts of the estate we’ll have to sell off so we can deliver services day to day. Then the thought of spending all that money on a vanity project in Scarborough? Most of the public could see that was ridiculous.”

Coun Arnold Warneken (Green, Ouseburn) said he hopes having a Labour mayor working alongside the Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council will usher in a new era of co-operation between opposing parties.

He said: “I think he’s a mayor we can talk to. It will open lots of doors and maybe North Yorkshire Council will be more receptive to working with other parties.

“At the moment it’s a bit of a closed shop. I think we have potential here to make good grounds on issues that are important to the Greens.”

Local Labour Party activist Chris Watt has seen his share of Labour candidates struggling in Harrogate and Knaresborough but he believes the result shows the party “can be a real force” in the area.

He said: “So many people said they were voting Labour for the first time. It shows people they shouldn’t write Harrogate and Knaresborough off.”

Someone with a close eye on the result was Andrew Jones MP. At the next general election he’s facing a battle to hang on to the Harrogate & Knaresborough constituency he has held since 2010.

Mr Jones issued a statement that congratulated Mr Skaith and said he was looking forward to meeting him.

He said: “It was clearly a good day for Labour here. According to the team at the count Labour looked to have done extremely well in this constituency which is, in itself, astonishing.

“This is a day of firsts. Our first Mayor for York and North Yorkshire is now in place. A first for Labour topping the polls in our county. And a high-level Labour representative for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

“Analysis is for another day. Today is Mr Skaith’s day. I wish him well and look forward to meeting him. There is a lot we can and will do together for our area.”