People have begun putting their names forward to be the first ever East Midlands Mayor as preparations start for setting up a new authority covering part of the region. Former Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping, is among those who have formally expressed an interest in running for the job.
An agreement was signed last August between the Government and the leaders of Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council. The agreement will see a new East Midlands Combined County Authority (CCA) being set up, which will have special powers in areas such as transport and housing.
The organisation will be given £1.14 billion over 30 years and Ben Bradley, one of the leaders to sign the agreement, says preparations for creating this new authority are now underway. The East Midlands CCA will contain members from each of the four signatory councils and will be headed up by a new East Midlands Mayor.
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The first election for the East Midlands Mayor is due to be held next May, the same month when the CCA will be formally established. All political parties will be able to field a candidate for the role, alongside any potential independent candidates.
Three people have already expressed formal interest to be the Labour Party's candidate. These three include Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire's first Police and Crime Commissioner and the former MP for Sherwood.
John Hess, the BBC's political editor for the East Midlands between 1997 and 2015, has also expressed interest in being Labour's candidate. The final person to have expressed interest in running for Labour is Claire Ward, the former Labour MP for Watford who currently serves as the Chair of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It is understood that Labour's formal selection process will open for applications next week. This process is set to take up to 10 weeks, with a candidate likely to have been selected by August.
In terms of selecting the Conservative Party's candidate, Mansfield MP and Nottinghamshire County Council leader Ben Bradley says the party should have a candidate in place by September. In terms of whether he would put his name forward, Councillor Bradley says he is yet to decide but says he would look at the "practicalities" of doing so.
In terms of broader preparations for the authority, a Nottinghamshire County Council report recently confirmed that interim staff would soon be appointed. The East Midlands CCA will first operate as a 'shadow authority' before being formally established next May.
Ben Bradley said: "We're now taking the next steps in creating this organisation and by the summer, it should be a real and tangible thing. That will be important for us in terms of moving away from being four different councils and into this new authority where we'll be speaking for the region."
Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, repeated the Government's commitment to the new East Midlands authority during a visit last week. Mr Gove's visit started in Mansfield on Thursday (May 18), before progressing to the Nuclear Skills Academy, based in Derby and run by Rolls-Royce.
Mr Gove said: "It's clear this partnership is really strong and that everyone involved is keen to drive this forward, so that we can grow the regions economy and create better opportunities for local people. The government is committed to delivering for the East Midlands, working with both the council and private sector partners, to bring in investment, jobs and new infrastructure to level up communities right across the region."
A new investment zone for the East Midlands was also discussed during Mr Gove's visit, something Ben Bradley says is an early benefit of having a new devolved authority. Investment zones are specific geographic areas that have their own tax and regulatory rules to try and boost economic growth.
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