By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has announced he is stepping down from the role.
Conservative Group Leader and former MP for Mansfield Ben Bradley informed the group in a meeting on Wednesday afternoon (November 6).
Mr Bradley says the past year has been “challenging” after being defeated in two separate elections.
He lost the race to become the first mayor of the East Midlands on May 2, conceding to Labour’s Claire Ward, and later lost his Mansfield seat to Labour’s Steve Yemm by more than 3,000 votes in July after a party landslide victory nationally.
A County Council election is due to take place next May.
He said: “During my almost four years as Leader, I am proud that Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire County Council demonstrated significant influence in the national agenda, helping us to secure major new investment in the form of the East Midlands Combined Authority and billions of associated new funding, and the STEP Fusion Energy project in the North of the County that will create thousands of new jobs and training opportunities for local people, along with significant new investment and infrastructure to support clean energy research.
“These are long-term projects with multi-generational impact, that will truly make a difference for local communities. They’ve also helped us to grow the reputation of Nottinghamshire and NCC, as somewhere that is a good partner to work with and is open for business.
“The Council has worked hard to deliver significant service transformation and improvement, particularly across Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, which has put us in good stead for the future.
“I am incredibly proud of our record of delivering new schools, SEND places, and continuing to push forward with an extensive programme of capital investment in our county, despite the financial pressures across Local Government.
“In each year and each Budget during my tenure Nottinghamshire County Council has delivered better value for money for local people relative to other Councils. It has been a pleasure and an honour to lead the Council for almost four years, but now the time is right to move on.”
Mr Bradley took over from former leader of the council and Conservative veteran Kay Cutts MBE in 2021.
Mrs Cutts, who decided not to contest her Radcliffe-on-Trent seat in 2021 after 32 years in politics, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is a bit of a surprise but it might be a good thing.
“We are going into an election in May, a very important election. There is a little bit of disquiet after the East Midlands mayoral election.
“[The election] is going to be a challenge. I do think this is the most unpopular Labour Government in recent times, they are not going to do well, but I cannot guarantee it is going to be good for the Conservative Party as well.
“We are in a very fluid situation across the country. Politics is reshaping itself. [Ben] has done a good job but the mayor, which went to the Labour Party, has been hanging over him a little bit.
“He was a young MP in 2017, that was a huge accolade, it will be interesting to see what he does after taking a step back.”
