A new YouGov poll shows that Ben Houchen may have a slight lead over Chris McEwan in the race to become Tees Valley Mayor.

The survey, conducted from April 12-29, has Lord Houchen on 51per cent of the vote with Labour's candidate Chris McEwan on 44 per cent and Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley on 5 per cent. 

The poll asked 924 people which candidate they intended to vote for before being weighted in terms of expected turnout. 

Tees Valley – Ben Houchen holds seven point lead

The Northern Echo: YouGov Tees Valley poll

A YouGov spokesperson said: "The Tees Valley contest sees a Tory incumbent – Ben Houchen – attempting to win a third mayoral term.

"Ben Houchen has a more comfortable lead over his Labour opponent Chris McEwan, with the former on 51 per cent to the latter’s 44 per cent. A Lib Dem candidate – Simon Thorley – takes the remaining 5 per cent of the vote."

You can read the full breakdown here

This comes just two weeks after a shock poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, using data gathered from April 17 to 19, that found Labour candidate Chris McEwan and Ben Houchen tied on 47 per cent of the vote.

In 2021, Ben Houchen managed to gain 72 per cent of the vote but Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden described the situation as very different when visiting Darlington to campaign.

He said: "The fact that we are running it close with a good campaign here, I have been up and the PM has been up, shows we are putting 100 per cent into it.

Don't miss out on the latest news and stories. Subscribe to the Northern Echo, click here

Most read

"It’s going to be really tight on the day. If we hold Teesside in these circumstances, it would be amazing. It would be against the entire run of play."

The Tees Valley, North East and North Yorkshire mayoral elections will all be held on Thursday, May 2. 

In the Tees Valley voters will be able to vote for Lord Houchen for the Conservative Party, Chris McEwan for the Labour Party and Simon Thorley for the Liberal Democrats.