JEREMY CORBYN set the Tees Valley mayoral election running last night with a whistlestop visit that placed buses at the top of Labour’s agenda.

The party leader conducted the first major visit of the campaign, stopping in Stockton to speak to an enthusiastic audience of 150 on the riverfront. He delivered a wide-ranging address, although his principal purpose was to urge people to back Labour’s candidate, Sue Jeffrey, who is standing to be the sub-region’s first mayor in the election on May 4.

“Sue’s priorities will be improving public transport, particularly buses. She will be a voice for the region, demanding resources and money,” he told The Northern Echo after his speech. “This is an area where we can showcase what we could do as a Labour government.”

The Tees Valley – which covers the five council areas from Darlington east to Redcar and Hartlepool – is one of six parts of the country to get the new mayors. Each mayor will have slightly different powers, although economic growth and public transport are common to all.

“Buses are not very sexy but if you don’t have a car they are the only way to get about and they are much better for the environment,” Mr Corbyn said, stressing their importance to people in poor rural areas who wished to gain a job.

The mayors could get powers to regulate local bus services. “London does have a very efficient, highly regulated bus system and car ownership is reducing,” said Mr Corbyn, who doesn’t own a car. “So it isn’t impossible. Other countries manage it. Why can’t we.”

Mr Corbyn stayed overnight in the area and today reinforce his message by taking to Stockton’s buses with Ms Jeffrey, who wasn’t present last night due to a long standing prior engagement. “I totally understand,” said the party leader. “Sue and I are cool.” He was, though, flanked by the Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald.

In his speech, Mr Corbyn spoke of Labour’s watching brief on the Brexit negotiations. “The North-East has a positive in terms of trade, particularly with Europe and tariff barriers would be catastrophic in terms of jobs and investment in the future of this region,” he said.

He maintained that there would have been buyers for Redcar steel had the plant stayed open. “All that we wanted was a government that cares,” he said.

In a sweaty room, he received his biggest burst of applause for an attack on the media when he said: “If you are saying things that upset very powerful companies then something tells me you are saying the right things.”

Of the state of the health service, he said: “There are 1.2m people waiting in hospitals for social care. That’s 1.2m in a country of 65m, that’s a lot of people but local authorities are so underfunded they can’t meet the requirements. The Government did a deal for Surrey – Surrey is the hardest word is seems – but they didn’t do it for anywhere else.”

This theme of injustice ran through his speech, when concluded with a standing ovation when he said: “Our cause is a cause for everybody, a fair, inclusive society where every child can realise their full potential and no one is left behind because of the poverty of their circumstances.”

Ms Jeffrey is expected to formally launch her campaign on Monday. Others in the race include Conservative Ben Houchen, Liberal Democrat Chris Foote Wood and Ukip’s John Tennant.