Do the North East's two mayors get along?

For the first time, north-east England's two biggest political figures have appeared together on BBC Politics North.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen are from opposing parties, but with regional issues affecting both areas are they able to work together?

Conservative Houchen told BBC Politics North: "We're not rivals actually, we work quite closely."

Labour's McGuinness agreed: "The thing is, we've got a shared endeavour. We've got a job to do."

After winning the 2024 general election, one of Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's first engagements was a reception with 12 regional mayors, including Houchen and McGuinness.

For Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the meeting was about "shifting power out of Westminster" towards the regions.

Houchen, the only remaining Conservative metropolitan mayor, was elected for a third successive term in 2024.

He said he was pleased when devolution deals saw McGuinness and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith take control of powers for their own regions.

"One of the things I've been saying for a long time, because I was part of the first wave, was that there was a big imbalance between the east coast and the west coast.

"You had Greater Manchester and Liverpool, which are powerful in their own right, and we were trying our best to fight the North East's corner."

"But actually having Kim, we've got David [Skaith] in North Yorkshire, we've all of a sudden been able to redress that balance," Houchen said.

"Working with Kim on what are practical issues rather than political issues means that we can work perfectly well together."

McGuinness agreed the role of championing the region went beyond a single mayor.

Elected in 2024, she became the first North East mayor and represents just under two million people.

She told BBC North East and Cumbria's political editor Richard Moss: "The job is to make sure more investment makes its way north of the M62, to make sure the east of the country gets the same amount of attention as the west, and to really create a joined up North East.

"I find that we do that well together.

"That refocus on the role of mayors, putting us at the centre of the government's plan for growth, and devolving more power, can only be good for the people of the North East."

BBC Politics North airs on Sunday at 10:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer. Catch up on previous editions on the iPlayer now.