THE North-East did not vote for a Conservative Government, or an economic strategy based on deeper and deeper austerity, but that it what it has got.

And the way the Labour leadership race is developing, there is a good chance that there will be a Conservative government beyond the next election.

So, like it or not, the North-East has to work with the administration elected by the country.

With the clock ticking on getting a place at the devolution table, our region has to get its act together to make sure it doesn't miss out on strategic powers.

And, as we said earlier this week, it is becoming increasingly likely that the North-East will end up with two elected mayors, representing the combined councils under the region's two local enterprise partnerships (LEPs).

With the way the structure of local government has developed in the last five years, it is now inconceivable that the Tees Valley – encompassing Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Hartlepool – would be governed by a metro mayor based in Newcastle. The region has become too fragmented for that.

We, therefore, welcome today's declaration by the Labour leaders of the Tees Valley councils that they are committed to working with Stockton South Conservative MP James Wharton – the minister in charge of the Northern Powerhouse initiative – to get the best deal possible from the Government.

Given that the Government has repeatedly insisted that deal is dependent on elected mayors, it is fair to conclude that the Tees Valley has now accepted it will need to swallow the mayoral pill or miss out on what the Government is willing to offer.

The North-East's absolute priority is to win those strategic powers – whatever it takes.

That said, with George Osborne this week launching a spending review dominated by a call for Whitehall cuts of up to 40 per cent, the next big question is: "What will be left to devolve?"