Mayor of the East Midlands explained

Post:Mayor
Body:the East Midlands
Insignia:East Midlands Combined County Authority logo.svg
Insigniasize:220px
Incumbent:Claire Ward
Incumbentsince:7 May 2024
Style:Mayor[1]
Termlength:Four years
Formation:7 May 2024
Appointer:Electorate of the East Midlands Combined County Authority area
Inaugural:Claire Ward
Website:https://www.eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk/the-mayor/

The Mayor of the East Midlands is a combined county authority mayor of the new East Midlands Combined County Authority (Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Derbyshire and Derby), to be elected for the first time in May 2024.[2]

Claire Ward is the incumbent; she was elected in May 2024.[3]

Background

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 introduced directly elected mayors for combined authorities. Combined authorities cover multiple local government areas. A combined authority covering Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire was first proposed in 2016. Some later proposals also included Leicestershire. Ultimately, the East Midlands Combined Authority included only Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, covering the region of Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council. During consultation, a minority of respondents supported the introduction of a mayor for the region.[4] The local authorities concerned voted to proceed with devolution plans, including the establishment of a directly elected mayor of the East Midlands, in March 2023.[5]

Some politicians in Leicestershire expressed regret at being left out of the devolution deal, which had been opposed by Leicester City Council. The Centre for Cities said that even combining Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire was "a mistake" as "they are two different counties with distinct local economic needs".[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023]
  2. Web site: Pridmore . Oliver . 2023-05-22 . Potential candidates emerge for first ever East Midlands Mayor . 2024-01-16 . Nottinghamshire Live . en.
  3. News: 2024-05-03 . East Midlands Mayor: Labour's Claire Ward wins first-ever election . 2024-05-03 . BBC News . en-GB.
  4. Web site: Boakye . Kwame . 2023-03-14 . Public split on plans for an East Midlands mayor . 2023-06-09 . Local Government Chronicle (LGC) . en.
  5. Web site: Boakye . Kwame . 2023-03-31 . East Midlands to proceed with devolution deal . 2023-06-09 . Local Government Chronicle (LGC) . en.
  6. News: Murray . Jessica . 2022-09-05 . Joint east Midlands mayor plan would ‘consign Leicestershire to division two’ . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-09 . 0261-3077.