Chris Cooke (politician)

Chris Cooke is a British Labour Party politician. Since May 2023, he has been the directly elected Mayor of Middlesbrough.[1] By virtue of being Mayor of Middlesbrough, he is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority Board and the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel.

Mayor
Chris Cooke
Official Portrait
Mayor of Middlesbrough
Assumed office
4 May 2023
DeputyPhilippa Storey
Preceded byAndy Preston
Personal details
Born (1990-11-15) 15 November 1990
Teesville, Cleveland, England
Political partyLabour

Early life

Cooke was born in 1990,[2] and brought up in Teesville, Cleveland, England.[3] He grew up in care.[1] He was educated at St Peter's Secondary School, a Catholic school in South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland.[2]

After school, Cooke began an apprenticeship at Laurence Jackson School in Guisborough as an IT technician. He remained at the school after completing his apprenticeship. Some time after being elected a councillor in 2019, he left his IT job and became a community cohesion co-ordinator at Streets Ahead, a charitable help and advice centre in Middlesbrough.[2]

Political career

On 2 May 2019, Cooke was elected as one of three councillors to represent the Newport Ward on Middlesbrough Council.[4]

Mayor of Middlesbrough

On 4 May 2023, he was elected Mayor of Middlesbrough with 10,956 votes, defeating the incumbent Andy Preston by 760 votes.[5]

Shortly after his election, Cooke expressed the need for a change of culture within Middlesbrough Council stating there to be “an adversarial culture between politicians and officers”.[6]

Cooke vowed the council he leads would become "a service-led organisation", and that children's social care would get his full focus.[7]

Personal life

Cooke is married to Julia Cooke, who serves a councillor on Middlesbrough Council.[2] He is a Christian.[2]

References
  1. "Local elections 2023: Labour's Chris Cooke ousts Andy Preston as Middlesbrough mayor". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. "Mayor Chris Cooke interview: Unusual route into politics and 'putting people first'". www.middlesbrough.gov.uk. Middlesbrough Council. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. Lewis, Eden (13 December 2022). "Labour Party announce candidate for Middlesbrough mayor elections". TeessideLive. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  4. "Election results: 2019 local elections". middlesbrough.gov.uk. Middlesbrough Council. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  5. Craigie, Emily (5 May 2023). "Labour shock win in Middlesbrough as Chris Cooke defeats Andy Preston". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. Waterson, James (2023-05-10). "Middlesbrough Labour Mayor Chris Cooke: a change of culture". North East Bylines. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  7. "Labour ousts Andy Preston as Middlesbrough mayor". BBC News. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.