In our series profiling the six candidates for Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, we turn to Kerry Harrison, standing for the Green Party. These portraits are not about political point-scoring or theatre. They are about people—about the character, convictions and courage of individuals who step forward not to shout over the noise, but to offer something different. In an increasingly complex and demanding political area, each of these candidates has chosen to put themselves in the firing line to lead and serve.
Kerry lives in Hessle, in the heart of the new combined authority, and works at a special needs school in Anlaby, supporting young people with complex needs. It’s work she speaks about with quiet pride—and deep purpose. “It’s changed the way I see things,” she says. “You understand, working at this level, what support really means to someone.”
She is not a career politician, nor someone who has risen through party machines. Her route into politics has been shaped by community and care. She’s a qualified coach and counsellor, and those listening skills—real, practised, not performative—are central to how she sees leadership. “I think it’s important to look at a situation from all aspects,” she says. “I’m a good listener. I always have been.”
Kerry is a trustee for Jenny’s Cat House, a local cat rescue charity, and sits on the committee at the Balfour Community Centre on Holderness Road in Hull. She’s hosted a pop-up café, led women’s circles, and raised her two sons in the thick of local grassroots football and rugby. In other words, she’s not an outsider looking in—she’s embedded in the rhythms of local life.
She grew up in Leeds, attending Abbey Grange and Lawnswood High—rival schools, she jokes—and went on to study at Bretton Hall College. As a teenager, she wanted to be a writer. That ambition never left entirely, but life took her in other directions. Still, her curiosity for people, her need to understand what shapes them, has stayed with her. “I love learning,” she says. “Whether through books, podcasts, or just conversation.”
“Initially, the new Mayor won’t have wide-ranging powers or a huge budget,” she says. “But that will change. We’ve seen it in other parts of the country. So now is the time to set a bold, imaginative direction for Hull and East Yorkshire.”
Her ideal Friday night is simple: snacks, wine, and good TV. She’s recently joined a local running club and is part of a women’s community circle—a space for mutual support and shared growth. There’s no pretence in her voice when she talks about these things. They’re not personal branding—they’re life. “I’m not religious,” she says, “but I believe we all have a spiritual side that we need to take care of.”
She first stood as a Green Party candidate when she was still at school—something she laughs about now, comparing it to her 2024 campaign in Hull North and Cottingham. With the mayoral election, she sees a new kind of opportunity: not a chase for power, but a chance to shape a healthier political culture from the ground up. “Initially, the new Mayor won’t have wide-ranging powers or a huge budget,” she says. “But that will change. We’ve seen it in other parts of the country. So now is the time to set a bold, imaginative direction for Hull and East Yorkshire.”
She doesn’t pull her punches: “This isn’t the time for recycled politicians and the reheated policies of failure,” she says. “We need a fresh start.” But her tone is not adversarial. It’s hopeful. She believes in policy, yes—but more than that, she believes in people. “I want to help those in society who are too often forgotten. And I want to bring our communities together—through local business, culture, and better transport.”
When asked what she wants most for the next generation, she doesn’t hesitate: “That they feel empowered and free from societal pressures.” She speaks as a mother—her children are at the centre of her life—and as someone who carries that quiet worry so many parents do. “I think constantly about how to keep them, and myself, safe.” And yet she says this not in fear, but in strength.
There’s humour in her, too. She describes herself with “GSOH”—a good sense of humour—and doesn’t believe in guilty pleasures. “If you enjoy something, why feel guilty?” she shrugs. It’s a worldview that blends honesty with grace.
When asked who supports her most, she points to her parents, her children, her friends. “They listen,” she says. And listening, for Kerry Harrison, is not passive. It is a form of presence. A form of power.
She admires politicians like Chlöe Swarbrick in New Zealand—leaders who stand up for their culture without losing their voice or their authenticity. That same thread runs through Kerry’s own candidacy. Her message isn’t slick or manufactured. It’s grounded. Steady. Honest.
Kerry Harrison isn’t offering political theatre or empty soundbites. She’s offering a different way—one rooted in empathy, lived experience, and a belief that leadership starts by listening. In a time where so much of politics feels distant and disconnected, hers is a voice that feels close to home.
Other candidates
Anne Handley – Conservative
Mike Ross – Lib Dem
Luke Campbell – Reform UK
Margaret Pinder – Labour
Rowan Halstead – Yorkshire Party