[1] By virtue of being Mayor of Middlesbrough, he is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority Board and the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel.

Some time after being elected a councillor in 2019, he left his IT job and became a community cohesion co-ordinator at Streets Ahead, a charitable help and advice centre in Middlesbrough.

[2] On 2 May 2019, Cooke was elected as one of three councillors to represent the Newport Ward on Middlesbrough Council.

[6] He vowed the council he leads would become "a service-led organisation", and that children's social care would get his full focus.

[7] As Mayor of Middlesbrough, he is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet.