Dame Norma Redfearn is a Labour politician serving as the directly-elected Mayor of North Tyneside.

Early life

Redfearn was born in Wallsend. The daughter of a shipyard worker, she graduated with a BPhil from Newcastle University.

Teaching career

Redfearn had a 30-year career in primary and secondary education. After a variety of teaching jobs, she left Wharrier Street Juniors in June 1986, where she was deputy head, to head West Walker Primary School, east of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. She stayed there until July 2000. In June 1989 the school won an award from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

for its playground design, presented to Redfearn and a pupil by

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

. then the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. In 1997, she became the first headteacher to receive the prize for Public Management Leadership from the Office for Public Management.

North Tyneside Council

Redfearn was elected to

North Tyneside Council North Tyneside Council is the local authority of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of lo ...

for the seat of Riverside ward in 2004 where she served until her election as mayor. After the election of

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea. Harrison's solution revol ...

as the Mayor of North Tyneside in 2005, Redfearn served as the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on North Tyneside Council. She held the position until 2009 when Harrison lost his re-election campaign. During her time as Cabinet Member for Children and Young People she is credited with introducing breakfast clubs for children across the borough. Following Harrison's defeat to Conservative Linda Arkley, Redfearn sought the nomination to become Labour's candidate for Mayor. In February 2012 she was formally selected as Labour's candidate for Mayor, defeating former Mayor Cllr John Harrison, former Deputy Mayor and then Leader of North Tyneside Labour Group Cllr Jim Allan, Cllr Ian Grayson, and Cllr Lesley Spillard. Redfearn would go on to defeat the Conservative incumbent

Linda Arkley Linda Arkley is a British Conservative politician who served as the elected Mayor of North Tyneside from 2003 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2013. Early life Arkley attended The Bede School in Sunderland, and studied at both Sunderland University ...

. She won Mayor of North Tyneside 2013, on Thursday 2 May 2013, with 55.35% of the votes cast on a turnout of 32.07% and re-elected again on 4 May 2017 with an increased majority. She was re-elected for a third term on 6 May 2021. Redfearn won re-election to the position of Elected Mayor of North Tyneside on 4 May 2017, defeating the Conservative candidate, Stewart Hay. When re-elected she became the first person to hold the position for two consecutive terms. In May 2018, Redfearn reshuffled her cabinet dismissing the former Mayor Harrison, among others, and bringing in new members including councillors Carl Johnson, Sarah Day, Steve Cox and Peter Earley. She made no changes to her Cabinet in 2019 or 2020. In 2020, Redfearn publicly announced that she would be seeking a historic third term as Elected Mayor of North Tyneside. Redfearn said the said she counts the multi-million pound regeneration of

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

and The Spanish City as one of the things she has been proudest of during her second term in office. During Redfearn's second term, children's services in North Tyneside were rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted, the Council declared a Climate Emergency, and Forest Hall town centre receive major investment. As of 2017, Redfearn lives in North Shields. Already

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE), Redfearn was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for political and public service.

North of Tyne Combined Authority

Redfearn was an ardent supporter of regional devolution and was one of the leading voices behind the creation of the North of Tyne Combined Authority. As a result, she was appointed Interim Mayor of the North of Tyne until an election took place, a role she held simultaneously with her post as Elected Mayor of North Tyneside. Following the

2019 North of Tyne mayoral election The inaugural North of Tyne mayoral election was held on 2 May 2019 to elect the first Mayor of the North of Tyne. The area is made up of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland. Subsequent elections will be held every five years. ...

, Redfearn was appointed Deputy Mayor of North of the Tyne and the Cabinet member for Housing and Land by new North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfearn, Norma Alumni of Newcastle University Labour Party (UK) councillors Women mayors of places in England Mayors of the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Labour Party (UK) mayors Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Wallsend Politicians from Tyne and Wear Women councillors in England