Conservatives pick candidate to stand in North Yorkshire mayor election

Keane Duncan was chosen by party members who voted after a hustings in Walshford, near Wetherby, on Friday evening.

The 28-year-old from Malton was competing against North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe and tech entrepreneur Matthew Freckelton.

Councillor Duncan, who is the executive member for highways and transportation on North Yorkshire Council, will stand to be mayor of the combined authority, at an election in May 2024.

He is now seen by many as the favourite because North Yorkshire is traditionally a Tory stronghold. The party currently controls the region’s council, but Labour runs City of York Council.

“It’s an honour to win the confidence of party members and be selected to fight for my home area in this critical election,” said Councillor Duncan.

“Working with Rishi Sunak, our MPs and councillors I will build a York and North Yorkshire open for business, proud of success and tough on crime where everyone can achieve their full potential.

“Our landmark £540m devolution deal heralds a new era for our area and represents an unprecedented opportunity to grow our county’s economy.

“Ahead of polling day in May, I will be working tirelessly to convince voters I have the vision and fight to turn our deal into a reality, Levelling Up every part our diverse and vast county and delivering maximum results.”

He met with the Prime Minister on Saturday and said they are “working together to build Britain’s first rural powerhouse”.

In 2019, he became the youngest council leader in the country when he took charge of Ryedale District Council, at the age of 24.

He resigned two years later after his proposals for a council tax freeze were overturned by a coalition of Liberal, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors.

The University of York graduate who worked for Hull Daily Mail before becoming a Deputy News Editor at the The Daily Star.

Ryedale District Council no longer exists, after merged with seven other councils to become one unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, in April.

The authority has 90 councillors covering 89 new wards and they were elected in 2022.

According to the council, ditching the two-tier council system which had been in place since 1974 so it was able to bid for a devolution deal that included a mayor.

It said mayoral led combined authorities “have big decision-making and financial benefits” they are provided with an £18m investment fund each year.

Merging the councils also saves taxpayers between £30m and £70m a year.

After the election in May, the new mayor will represent more than 800,000 people.