TWO of the region's political heavyweights have dedicated their New Year Honours to their hardworking staff.

Durham County Council leader Simon Henig said he took his CBE as recognition of the hard work of all at the authority and its partners, “least of all myself”; while John Weighell, who stepped down as leader of North Yorkshire County Council in May, called his OBE "humbling" and said he hoped it recognised the "success story of North Yorkshire".

Cllr Henig, 46, was elected leader of Labour-led Durham council in 2008, shortly before its move to unitary status.

Since then, he has led the council through unprecedented government funding cuts and job losses, while also taking on an increasingly prominent national role, as chair of the Association of Labour Councillors executive and the Labour group on the Local Government Association.

Under his leadership Durham was named Council of the Year in 2014. As chair of the North East Combined Authority he has led the march towards devolution and is now widely tipped to be the region’s first elected mayor.

He said: “It’s been eight years of constant challenge – a very challenging period that very few of us would have predicted. I see the honour as recognition of that.

“You find the leaders get the awards but it’s on behalf of many thousands of people who’ve worked very hard in a very difficult situation, but continue to provide excellent services.”

Cllr Weighell, a Conservative, is a partner in a family farming business and has been a councillor since 1993. He continues to represent the Bedale division.

He said: “I tried to run my leadership in a different, quiet way. I have met far too many leaders who consider themselves to be the boss, even some who consider themselves to be dictators.

“It is not like that at all. It is about being captain of a team. You don’t necessarily need to be the best player, leadership is about surrounding yourself with the best people.”

Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth minister James Wharton congratulated Cllr Weighell on his "well deserved" honour.

“John has long been a champion of rural communities and was at the fore of action taken by North Yorkshire County Council to ensure the area was switched on to the needs of businesses through superfast broadband,” he said.

“He also prioritised children’s social care, against a background of public mistrust and national concerns, and as a result significantly improved the services provided to vulnerable young people in his area.”

He added: “John is a significant political figure in Yorkshire and Humberside and it is great he has been acknowledged in this way.”