Devolution deal could bring £1.14bn investment to East Midlands over 30 years

Nottinghamshire MP Ben Bradley has launched his bid to become the first mayor of the East Midlands.

The member for Mansfield, who is also the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said he will “offer freedom and choice, not restrictions and costs”.

He made the announcement in a column for The Daily Telegraph on Sunday, July 2.

Mansfield MP Ben Bradley has announced his candidacy to become the first East Midlands mayor. (Photo: CC BY 3.0) | (Photo: CC BY 3.0)

placeholder image — Mansfield MP Ben Bradley has announced his candidacy to become the first East Midlands mayor. (Photo: CC BY 3.0) | (Photo: CC BY 3.0)

Mr Bradley criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan when he launched his candidacy bid and set out his opposition to an ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in the East Midlands.

He said: “Devolution offers so much potential but what we certainly don’t need is devolution that creates more bureaucracy and higher bills for taxpayers.

“Instead we need a system that brings decisions right up close to local people, because they know better than anyone in Whitehall how to improve their communities.”

If the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill passes, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, a new Mayoral Combined County Authority in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire will be created.

A new mayor would also be elected, who will act as a figurehead for the region - similar to Labour’s Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester.

The devolution deal could bring hundreds of millions of pounds of investment to the East Midlands. (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty) | Getty Images

The new authority would oversee new powers and funding to target infrastructure, home building, unemployment and transport - totalling £1.14bn over 30 years.

The region would receive an investment fund of £38m a year, with elections set to take place in May 2024, if the bill passes in time.

“My commitment to the people of the East Midlands is that as mayor I would use these powers only for their benefit, never at their cost,” Mr Bradley said,

“I will never introduce the kinds of charges and restrictions on people’s lives that Labour mayors have done.

“I will never make you pay more to drive to work. If elected I will offer freedom and choice, not restrictions and costs.”

Mr Bradley has not been officially selected as the Conservative mayoral candidate and if elected he would be automatically removed as the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council by law.

In March he was reselected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Mansfield at the next general election, which must be held by January 2025.

Fellow Conservative Nottinghamshire MPs Brendan Clarke-Smith, Darren Henry and Lee Anderson have all announced their support for Mr Bradley’s campaign.

Labour opened applications earlier this year and is expected to select a candidate by August.

They are Claire Ward, chair of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a former MP; Paddy Tipping, a former MP for Sherwood and Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner; and John Hess, a former journalist and political editor of BBC East Midlands Today.