Today we speak to Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor for Tees Valley who was given a life peerage by Boris Johnson. Adam speaks to Ben about his role as mayor, how he got into politics and how he managed to defeat national trends to hold his position in the 2024 local elections.Ben explains why he thinks the party should have gone shorter with their leadership campaign and his relationship with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhereNewscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gemma Roper and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham
Top comments
The BBC's daily news podcast, Newscast dives into the day's big stories so you're never out of your depth.Newscast picks the brains of BBC News experts so you're ready if someone picks yours, covering the latest developments in politics in Westminster and beyond.Newscast is hosted by trusted journalists including Adam Fleming, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O'Connell. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.Catch Newscast seven-days a week and watch on BB...