Mayor
Chris Cooke
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

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.

Early life

Cooke was born in 1990,[2] and brought up in Teesville (Eston District), Redcar and Cleveland. .[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. 1 2 "Local elections 2023: Labour's Chris Cooke ousts Andy Preston as Middlesbrough mayor". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "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.
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