By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Five people have put their names forward to become Labour’s candidate for the first-ever regional mayor election for the East Midlands.
The party has launched a two-month campaign to select its candidate for the new role ahead of the expected poll next year.
The position will be created after local leaders signed a £1.14bn devolution deal with the Government to hand more funding and powers to the region.
The new regional mayor will be similar to positions already in place in some other regions like South Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.
The deal requires Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire leaders to form a ‘combined authority’ to control new funding and decision-making powers.
This would feature representatives from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Councils and Nottingham and Derby City Councils.
There will also be seats on the authority for the ‘non-constituent’ district and borough councils in both counties alongside industry leaders.
Once in force, the deal promises at least £38m of extra spending in the region each year for 30 years on policy areas like transport, public health, housing and skills.
An elected mayor would then be appointed to oversee the plans and act as a figurehead for the region, similar to Labour’s Andy Burnham in Manchester.
The mayoral election is currently scheduled for May 2024 and now the Labour Party is selecting who it wants as its candidate on the ballot sheet.
The five people who have put their names forward for the role are:
- Suqie Banwait
- John Hess
- Paddy Tipping
- Claire Ward
- Councillor Adele Williams
The Labour Party will now decide whether each candidate is suitable for the role before announcing its full shortlist.
Members and unions will then be canvassed over the next two months with the party confirming it expects to select its candidate at the start of August.
Other groups are due to select candidates later in the year.
The Conservative Party is expected to choose its candidate in the autumn, with Cllr Ben Bradley, (Con), Mansfield’s MP and Nottinghamshire County Council, continuing to not rule out standing for a role he says is “exciting”.
Below are further details about each of the five Labour candidates.
Suqie Banwait
Ms Banwait was born in Belper and grew up in Derby. She now lives in Matlock.
Most recently, she was an unsuccessful Labour candidate in the Matlock East and Tansley ward of Derbyshire Dales District Council, and also unsuccessfully sought election in the 2021 Derbyshire County Council poll.
She has spent 23 years living in the south of England, including in London and Essex, describing herself as a “feisty young activist” before training to work in criminal justice and youth and social justice.
She has worked in the private, public and voluntary sectors, including the print industry, as well as the NHS and as a magistrate.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Ms Banwait for a comment on her bid to run for mayor.
John Hess
Mr Hess started his career at evening newspapers in Coventry and Birmingham before working at BBC Radio Nottingham.
He then became a political journalist for the BBC Midlands in Birmingham, before becoming BBC East Midlands Today’s political editor in 1997.
He presented the East Midlands segment of The Politics Show before retiring from the role in 2015.
On why he is standing, Mr Hess told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Having reported and covered the issues affecting Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire for the last 20 years, we always seem to lose out.
“If you look at any table of Government funding, for some reason the East Midlands hasn’t had its fair share.
“Hopefully, this issue of devolution and a regional mayor will take steps to improve that. I want to do this because I’ve got the know-how, experience and knowledge of the region to target what needs to be done.
“I’m not a career politician, I’ve been an observer of the region’s political scene for more than 20 years and I think I’m able to reach out to people cross-party.
“This isn’t a new tier of local government, it’s a new way of banging the drum for the East Midlands and trying to ensure it can continue to develop and grow.”
Paddy Tipping
Mr Tipping was Sherwood MP from 1992 until 2010 when he was beaten by current Tory MP and farming minister Mark Spencer.
During his time in Parliament, Mr Tipping held roles such as parliamentary secretary for the Privy Council Office and deputy leader of the House of Commons under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He then became the first Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner in 2012, a role he held until 2021 when he was beaten by current Conservative commissioner Caroline Henry.
Speaking on why he wants to be the region’s mayor, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This offers us opportunities.
“It’s not the best deal in the world and the power and the resources coming down are limited.
“But we need to campaign for a better deal, we’ve seen what Andy Burnham has done in Greater Manchester and I’d be pushing for a deal like that.
“At the end of the day, it does bring down some powers and I’m keen to do things with them.
“I’m up for the challenge, I’ve always been up for some challenges and I want to make some changes.”
Claire Ward
Ms Ward served as Labour MP for Watford between 1997 and 2010.
During her time in Parliament, she was assistant Government whip, lord commissioner of the Treasury, vice-chamberlain of the Her Majesty’s Household, and parliamentary under-secretary of state for justice.
After leaving politics, she became a non-executive director of Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust in 2013 alongside several other health roles and has been the trust’s chair since October 2021.
On her bid for the role, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Having been in frontline politics, involved with community grassroots and the health service, I have the skills needed for an elected mayor.
“The East Midlands has been overlooked for far too long, the Government talks about ‘levelling up’ the north and south but we get forgotten.
“It has some of the greatest potential, a rich industrial heritage, and I want to bring investment into it to significantly improve our job opportunities.
“It’s not a great deal and I’d like to have seen more money and greater powers, particularly around health and social care.
“The opportunity to get back into politics to try and address some of this, I think, will improve the health and wellbeing for all.”
Cllr Adele Williams
Cllr Adele Williams, Labour member for Sherwood on Nottingham City Council. Credit Adele Williams.
Cllr Williams has represented the Sherwood ward on Nottingham City Council since 2017 and has also held high-profile executive roles on the authority, including deputy leader and portfolios for finance, social care and transport.
She stepped down as deputy leader of the council last month.
Originally from Mansfield, Cllr Williams moved to Nottingham in the 1990s and has been part of a parents’ campaign against school cuts among other causes.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I have seen the damage de-industrialisation and political choices have done to the place I came from.
“Our region is held back by under-investment and there isn’t enough devolved to the people who know how we can improve our communities.
“I would be a mayor who is listening and hearing from people in communities about how we can make things work for each part of the region.
“I’d work together to get the best platform possible as the mayor. I’d hold regular assemblies, listening events and equalities assemblies to make sure we don’t leave anybody behind. We can’t afford to do that and it’s not right.”
