By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The candidates vying to become mayor of the East Midlands have revealed what they want to do on day one if they are elected on May 2 – with ideas including hosting a regional festival to kick things off and a programme of road improvements.
A £1.14bn devolution deal was signed by Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council in November 2022.
The funding will be provided in £38m chunks each year for the next 30 years, while the Government has also promised a further £1.5bn in transport money.
Powers to better decide what happens with transport, housing, skills, adult education, economic development and the environment will also be moved up from Westminster to the East Midlands for greater local control.
As a requirement of the deal, a new mayoral role must be created alongside the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
The mayor will work in a similar way to Andy Street in the West Midlands and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, and an election to decide who the mayor will be will take place on May 2.
Five of the six candidates were questioned during a hustings event at Confetti X on Friday, April 19, as organised by Nottingham Trent University (NTU), Notts TV, Nottinghamshire Live and Derbyshire Live.
The candidates are Frank Adlington-Stringer (Green Party), Ben Bradley (Conservatives), Alan Graves (Reform UK), Matt Relf (Independent), Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Liberal Democrats) and Claire Ward (Labour).
Ms Tamblyn-Saville did not attend on the day, but sent a statement outlining her priorities.
Candidates were asked, primarily, what they would prioritise first if elected.
The Conservative Party’s Ben Bradley, the current leader of Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council and the Conservative MP for Mansfield, said: “There’s lots of strategy that needs to be built, lots of priorities that need to be created. We are building an organisation that does not exist.”
He said any politician must show they are delivering in the long-term, but also make short-term impacts.
“My number one plan on day one is to kick of a massive programme of road resurfacing, sort out highways investment which I think is a massive priority for residents,” he added.
Reform UK’s Alan Graves, who was elected mayor of Derby in May 2023 by a single vote, said if he is to win he will seek to abolish the position of mayor, having described the role as undemocratic and one in which no-one wanted in the first place.
“I want to get a legal team behind me so we can tackle the Government and undo this legislation that has created this position in the first place,” he said.
“However, what I don’t want to do is lose any of the money that is already there. I would want to spend that wisely, thriftily and economically.”
Matt Relf, who is standing independently and has held elected office on Ashfield District Council for almost five years, said unlike Mr Graves he sees the position as an “opportunity to make real change for the region”.
“We need to seize it,” he said. “We may not have asked for it but it is coming.
“So for me the two primary goals, the things I want to really kick it off are – because Ben is right, there is going to be a lot of mobilisation in the first year – is a transport review both in terms of the highways, but also the entire public transport picture as well, so we can plan out for that.
“But also business support. It is a very disparate picture across the region. We need to bring that all together so there is one place business can come for the support and investment they need.”
Labour’s Claire Ward lost her seat sitting as Watford MP in 2010, and later moved to Nottinghamshire and later became a Non-Executive Director of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2013.
Ms Ward, who was appointed chairwoman of the trust in October 2021, said: “It is also about getting the culture right of the organisation and what that message is.
“But I want to get in engaging with our partners right across the region and here in the city as well.
“That means whether it is bringing people together to decide what we are going to do with some of the challenges here in the city, in terms of building, using brownfield sites we have got, Broadmarsh for example, but also talking to the bus companies.
“I want to have the sort of services, the fantastic types of bus routes we have got here in the city, right across the region. So I will be talking to the bus companies and getting those under control.”
The Green Party’s Frank Adlington-Stringer, who is a councillor for North East Derbyshire, promised a festival to kick things off in a different way.
“While Claire might be speaking to bus companies I have promised from day one I am going to bring them back into public control,” he added.
“We are going to do a land-spacial plan straight away so we know where to build, where we are going to re-wild and how our transport fits in to that, and we are going to have a regional festival, kick this off in a different way, celebrate our past, our future.”
The debate covered numerous topics from the state of the region’s roads, how the mayor could help boost tourism and improve active travel routes so that more people can cycle and walk to their destinations.
Candidates further discussed housing in the region and making sure the right homes are built for the people who need them, and how to engage younger people in policy decisions.
In a statement, Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Tamblyn-Saville said: “Liberal Democrats believe in change from grassroots up, not by grandstanding from the top.
“My priorities include improved transport links that are affordable and accessible to all, with simplified ticketing.
“We need affordable housing, and much needed social housing to be built. Brownfield land is important in achieving this, and new homes should be built to high standards to help meet net zero goals. Green retrofitting of existing homes should begin immediately, using local installers, keeping revenues generated within the local economy.
“No major decisions should be made in the region without considering the environmental impact. That’s why I would declare a climate emergency, launching a climate and sustainability forum. I’ll ensure ground up collaboration across the region, not top-down dictation.”
