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Labour's candidate to be North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll has hit back after Tories called him "a great danger" to the North East.

Voters in Northumberland , North Tyneside and Newcastle go to the polls on May 2 to elect the first North of Tyne Mayor.

And the battle appears to have begun in earnest after Jake Berry, the Conservative Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, decided to have a pop at Coun Driscoll, the Labour candidate.

Mr Berry said: "A great danger for continuing growth in the north-east of England is the unfortunate selection of the Momentum, hard-left candidate for the Newcastle and North of Tyne election."

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

He claimed Coun Driscoll was inspired by former London Mayor Ken Livinsgtone and Derek Hatton, the former deputy leader of Liverpool City Council when the council descended into chaos in the 1980s.

Mr Berry said: "The Housing Minister and I are from Liverpool, and we know where that leads."

He was speaking in the House of Commons in answer to a question about funding for public services in Newcastle.

Coun Driscoll beat Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes to win the right to become Labour's candidate. he was backed by Momentum, a group that supports Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Responding to those claims, Coun Driscoll said: "I’m fighting this election on policies, not schoolyard name calling."

"We need practical policies like my plan to build houses that people can actually afford.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

"I’ll create jobs and boost our local businesses by making spending decisions favour small businesses to provide secure work.

"I’ll create community hubs to regenerate our rural areas, bringing adult education and skills training to where people need it, and creating start-up business incubators.

"The Tories destroyed the industrial economy of our region before, and now their cuts are dangerously weakening our public services and infrastructure.

"We need a Labour mayor who understands industry and how to bring prosperity we can all be part of."

Conservatives have not yet chosen their candidate, but expect to make a decision on Thursday March 14.

While Labour are probably the favourites to win the contest, Tories believe they are in with a chance and Labour's decision to pick Coun Driscoll over Coun Forbes could work in their favour.