Ben Houchen has won the Tees Valley Mayoral Election and secured a third term in the post, it has been confirmed.

It has been revealed the Conservative today (May 3) triumphed over Labour opponent Chris McEwan across the Tees Valley, albeit with a reduced majority from 2021.

Ben Houchen denied that he had shied away from campaigning as a Conservative or mentioning Rishi Sunak in his campaign literature during the Tees Valley mayoral contest.

He told Sky News: “We absolutely don’t shy away from that at all, and Rishi’s been up during the campaign and we have always said Rishi’s been a great friend to the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

He added that the Prime Minister had been “a huge champion for this area”.

Ben Houchen declined to declare victory in the Tees Valley mayoral election despite Labour conceding defeat.

He told Sky News: “I would never take anything for granted and we are going to see over the next hour how the results turn out.”

Here is the voter breakdown by area:

*This is a breaking news story and will be updated as and when we know more*