THE starting gun appears to have been fired as party politicians step up to the plate with their promises in the run up to the May Tees Valley elected mayoral vote.

The latest promise, via Conservative candidate Ben Houchen, is to get rid of Cleveland Police as highlighted on the front page of The Northern Echo (Nov 7).

While some may well agree with Cllr Houchen, others on Teesside, may think there are bigger priorities, like cleaning up the redundant steelmaking plants in and around the Redcar area, transport issues on the roads and the trains plus Durham Tees Valley Airport.

These, along with skills shortages and job creation, should surely be top of any wannabe mayor’s political agenda?

George Robert Dunning, Ormesby