By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The Green Party has selected its candidate to run in the East Midlands mayoral race in May.
Frank Adlington-Stringer, who was born in Chesterfield and is North East Derbyshire’s first ever Green Party councillor, has promised he will not be whipped like other parties and will represent communities “as honestly as possible”.
He has also pledged to deliver a “green industrial revolution” in the East Midlands to future-proof the region.
The 26-year-old, who studied Politics and International Relations at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), received almost 90 per cent of votes in the party’s selection process.
As part of the £1.14bn devolution deal, a mayor will be elected on May 2 this year to represent the East Midlands Combined County Authority, under which Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire will be constituent members.
The mayor will have devolved powers to make more major decisions locally, like Andy Street in the West Midlands or Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham.
The combined authority will receive £38m annually for 30 years and have greater controls over how money is spent on transport, education, housing, and the environment.
Mr Adlington-Stringer, who was announced as the Green Party’s candidate on February 10, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It has been really nice to be supported in this way.
“It is a big step for us. It is a £5,000 deposit but we’ve been able to raise that. It is the first time [The Green Party] is going for an election like this.
“While we think the mayoral position is not very democratic in the first place, we accept it is an opportunity to kickstart our region.
“For too long we have been ignored. Politicians talk about London and the north and we get forgotten.”
Mr Adlington-Stringer left the Labour Party in 2018 having felt “uninspired and let down”.
While studying in Nottingham, he renovated a narrowboat which became his home.
He says it allowed him to get an insight into the city’s historic canal network and its importance.
On North East Derbyshire District Council, he is the vice-chair of the Environmental Scrutiny Committee.
“I won’t be whipped,” he said. “The Green Party does not have a whip. I can represent our communities as honestly as possible.
“The Greens are free to have this voice. A Green mayor will be community-focused.”
On top of honesty, Mr Adlington-Stringer says the Green Party’s goals include boosting education outcomes for 86,000 job-seekers in the region, renewing the regional economy to ensure it is “future ready” and improving what he hopes will be a publicly-owned transport system with a simple ticketing structure.
He continued: “On housing we want to ensure it is up to standard and future ready, energy efficient and built on brownfield sites where possible.
“We’ve got a huge opportunity here with £1 billion over the next 30 years to invest.
“There is no reason why the East Midlands can’t be at the forefront of a green industrial revolution.”
Also standing in the mayoral race is Cllr Ben Bradley (Con), Claire Ward (Lab), Cllr Matt Relf (Ashfield Ind) and Derby mayor Cllr Alan Graves (Reform).
