The uncertain future of Durham Tees Valley airport emerged as the crunch issue of the first Metro Mayoral election in 2017. I was elected on the platform of bringing the airport into public ownership.

How the Tees Valley's mayoral combined authority came to buy its local airport is a story that started in the world of politics, but one that led to the authority's officers and fresh senior leadership team delivering a wide-ranging £588m investment plan designed to revitalise the economy of one of the UK's most deprived areas.