'This is why I am cracking on with the job' - Harrogate-born Mayor of York and North Yorkshire opens up on challenges

David Skaith told the Harrogate Advertiser that taking on the new role after winning the first-ever mayoral election for York and North Yorkshire in May 2024, had been a huge challenge, particularly in the context of the massive upheaval of local devolution.

But, nearly two years to the day after he secured victory for the Labour Party with 35% of the vote, compared to 27% for his nearest rival Keane Duncan of The Conservative Party, Mr Skaith said he felt he had made a “good start” and he was “cracking on with the job.”

“The first two years have flown by but I’m feeling really good about it,” said David, who is aged 40 and grew up in Harrogate where his family still lives and his brother serves as a police officer.

"As Mayor, I have to be everywhere and try to help every area, but I’m very proud to come from Harrogate.

"Harrogate and Knaresborough have been ignored and overlooked after years of Tory rule in Westminster.

"It’s time they were supported and I am working to do just that.”

A businessman in York, David Skaith has only been in politics for the last six years, just a decade after he first joined the Labour Party.

Having felt compelled to give something back to the community after his father died during the Covid pandemic, as Mayor he is now running The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) which controls funding for transport, housing, skills, and policing, with an additional brief of boosting economic growth.

Determined to work in partnership with the Tory-run North Yorkshire Council, and anyone else for that matter, in the cause of supporting the interests of the whole county, Mr Skaith remains realistic but positive as he also considers the prospect of facing the voters again in just two years’ time.

"The role of Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is obviously a huge remit, especially during the creation of the brand new combined authority with North Yorkshire Council,” he said.

"It’s the first time local devolution has been tried in such a rural area.

"Now that all that work has been done, my focus is on improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses and championing North Yorkshire as an amazing place with great investment opportunities.”

That public commitment by the Mayor has seen a flurry of initiatives in recent months on a weekly basis running into millions of pounds tackling everything from mental wellbeing to building new affordable homes.

Despite all that potential power and influence, spreading yourself thin in such a geographically vast and economically diverse county is an inevitable risk.

Members of Harrogate District Cycle Action questioned his green credentials recently when David Skaith unveiled the combined authority’s draft Strategy for a Sustainable Future.

Although the pressure group acknowledged he was doing a “good job for active travel overall”, they said the lack of specific targets for reducing vehicle miles or increasing cycling was “disappointing”.

"If you look at my record, I’ve made a record amount of investment in active travel since I was elected,” said David.

"The new strategy is out for public consultation and I’m hoping everyone will get involved, including Harrogate District Cycle Action.”

Bearing in mind the often hostile atmosphere of national politics, relations between the Labour Mayor and the Tory council have been relatively peaceful since he was elected, until, that is, North Yorkshire Council threatened a judicial review.

The recent announcement by the Mayor of a four-year strategy worth £456.2 million to fund transport improvements, repair crumbling roads and tackle North Yorkshire’s growing pothole problems should have been a win win all round.

Instead, an angry North Yorkshire Council claimed a significant chunk of that money rightfully belonged in its own roads budget.

This rare spat maybe a sign of what is to come when campaigning gets under way in the run-up to the next mayoral election for York and North Yorkshire in 2028.

Despite his shallow roots in politics or, perhaps, because of them, the current Harrogate-born Mayor can afford to shrug it off and focus on what he believes is the job in hand.

"I think it’s just a bit of a stunt by North Yorkshire Council which has its own internal political challenges right now,” said David Skaith.

“They’re getting a record-breaking £268 million for roads over the next four years, £75 million more than the previous four-year period.

"I‘ve always said I will work with anyone who wants to improve things in York and North Yorkshire but there are a lot of wrongs we need to right.

"We have to remind ourselves we have not come into a perfect situation after 14 years of neglect by the previous Tory government.

"It won’t be turned around in a weekend but I think we have made a good start and I am cracking on with the job.

"North Yorkshire is such a great county I am confident we can do it.”