Driscoll was born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire in 1970.[1][2] His father was a tank driver in the British army before becoming a shift worker at Imperial Chemical Industries, while his mother trained to be a youth worker. He states that his politics is influenced by his mother. He has three siblings: an older brother who served in the Royal Navy; a sister who was a healthcare assistant for the NHS; and a younger brother Jon, who is a football commentator, podcaster and author of The Fifty: Football's Most Influential Players, and Get it Kicked! The Battle for the Soul of English Football. Driscoll left school at 16. During this time, he was training as an engineer making breathing apparatus. Driscoll decided to go to university later on, studying engineering at Northumbria University.[3]
Early career
After university, Driscoll worked as a project engineer and later became the manager and company director for a software development firm.[2]
Political career
Driscoll joined the Labour Party in 1985.[4] He was elected to Newcastle City Council in 2018 to represent Monument ward. He was a member of the campaigning group and the chair of the Newcastle branch of Momentum.[2][5]
Driscoll called a climate emergency on the day he was elected.[11] In August 2019, he told journalists that, despite the combined authority still needing to find its feet, he was pleased with the progress the authority had made in its first 100 days.[12] Since then, he has invested in the economy, which he claims will create over 5000 jobs,[13] and safeguard 3277 more,[13] funded a non-coercive Working Homes programme to empower social housing residents with new skills, launched a Climate Change teachers programme partnering with the United Nations, and allocated tax funds to rural broadband infrastructure. He has also funded organisations like Kielder Observatory to get more children into STEM subjects, and allocated funds for a youth outreach project in collaboration with Newcastle United F.C.[14]
