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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Baron Houchen of High Leven

 The life peerage recently conferred upon Mr Ben Houchen, has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Houchen of High Leven, of Ingleby Barwick in the Borough of Sockton-on-Tees, 12 July, 2023.

Lord Houchen of High Leven (born 9 December 1986), is a Conservative Party politician who was elected as Tees Valley Mayor in May 2017 after winning the 2017 mayoral election, defeating Labour candidate Sue Jeffrey by 2.2 per cent in the second round. He was re-elected in 2021, defeating the Labour candidate, Jessie Joe Jacobs.

Lord Houchen represents the five Tees Valley local authority areas of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington. He also acts as chairman of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the body tasked with driving economic growth and job creation in the area.

The peer was a councillor on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, representing Yarm ward, between 2011 and 2017. In 2012 he stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate in the Middlesbrough by-election. In the 2014 European Parliament elections, Houchen was the Conservative candidate for the North East region.

Houchen was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of the Tees Valley in December 2016. Upon taking office, he became entitled to the style of Mayor.

He was ennobled in Boris Johnson's controversial resignation honours list.

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