Dame Norma Redfearn (born February 1938'')'' is a British Labour Party politician who served as

Mayor of North Tyneside The Mayor of North Tyneside is the executive mayor of the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. The incumbent since 2025 is Karen Clark (British politician), Karen Clark. A Mayoral Referendum was held on 5 May 2016 to determine i ...

from 2013 to 2025.

Early life and career

Redfearn was born in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

. The daughter of a shipyard worker, she graduated with a

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

from

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

. 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, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. 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 suppl ...

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. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. then the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. 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, or North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council, is the Local Government in England, local authority for the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provid ...

as a councillor for Riverside ward in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

where she served until her election as mayor. After the election of

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was an English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea. Harrison's sol ...

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. Norma redfearn mayor north tyneside july2014

Norma redfearn mayor north tyneside july2014

She was first elected as

on 2 May 2013, winning 55.35% of the votes cast on a turnout of 32.07% and re-elected again on 4 May 2017, defeating the Conservative candidate, Stewart Hay, with an increased majority. She was re-elected for a third term on 6 May 2021. 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 stated that 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 was 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 ...

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 Forest Hall is a village in the borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is 4 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne. It borders Killingworth to the north, Holystone to the east and Benton to the south. The village was named after the Fo ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE), Redfearn was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(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. In May 2024 Redfearn announced she would not be seeking a forth term as Mayor, she subsequently left the office in May 2025.

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 The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a combined authority, mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into be ...

. 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, 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 People from Wallsend Politicians from Tyne and Wear Women councillors in England 1938 births Mayors of the North of Tyne