TWO Labour councillors will battle it out early next week to become the next leader of Darlington council.

When nominations closed yesterday evening, only Cllrs Steve Harker and Chris McEwan had put themselves forward to replace Cllr Bill Dixon who is retiring on Thursday after seven years as leader.

Their names will now go before Labour councillors at a group meeting on Tuesday who will make the choice. As Labour retained its seat in the by-election held in the Cockerton ward on Thursday, there will be 29 councillors voting for the new leader.

Cllr Harker, a railway software designer, has been a councillor for Pierremont since 1995 and the deputy leader of the council since 2011. He is also chaired the council resources and efficiency committee (in other words finance), and has been the organiser of the Labour group – he is the agent for MP Jenny Chapman.

Perhaps by dint of seniority, Cllr Harker starts as the slight favourite although Cllr McEwan is a more recognisable face, if only because he has been fronting the council’s response the recent high street closures. Cllr McEwan, a former NHS worker, has been a councillor for Haughton since 1999 and has the economic development portfolio in the council cabinet.

Cllr Dixon said: “Good luck to them both. I expect it will be a good, clean contest fought in a comradely spirit.”

The new leader will be only the third since 1991, as before Cllr Dixon, the late John Williams led the council for 20 years.

The new leader will also double as Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen’s deputy, and will hold the transport portfolio on the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

The winner of Tuesday’s group meeting will go before Thursday’s full council meeting when Cllr Dixon will formally step down. The first chance the public will have to vote on the new leadership will be in the elections next May.

Labour is now back to having 29 councillors as its candidate Edwin Heslop won the Cockerton by-election caused by the death of Cllr David Regan earlier this year.

Cllr Heslop received 555 votes, which was more than double the amount cast for Conservative candidate Scott Durham, who came second with 239 votes.

This meant Labour won 51 per cent of the vote, up by nearly eight per cent on when the seat was contested three years ago, whereas the Conservative vote was slightly down.

The Liberal Democrat Charlotte Curry came third with 104 votes.

Also fighting for the seat were the For Britain candidate Kevin Brack, who had 63 votes, nearly twice as many the Green Party candidate Terri Hankinson who secured 34. An independent candidate, Joel Wilks, won 93 votes.

The turn-out for the by-election was 23.03 per cent.

*The Northern Echo has invited both leadership candidates to write about their visions for the town, which we hope to publish on Tuesday morning.