Residents in Ashfield will vote in two regional elections this spring. The first is a county-wide election for Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. The second is a regional-wide contest for the first executive East Midlands Mayor, who will serve the whole of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, including the cities of Derby and Nottingham. Both elections will take place on Thursday 2 May.
A general election is also likely this year, but the date for this has not been set. Many political pundits predict that the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, will call the election for 2 May, but others are suggesting an election in the Autumn.
By law, the UK Parliament is dissolved five years from the date on which it first met. This means that it will automatically dissolve on Tuesday 17 December, unless the prime minister asks the King for an earlier dissolution. The election would take place 25 days later. With the public holidays over Christmas and the New Year, this means that the latest possible date for the next General Election is Tuesday 28 January 2025. While elections are traditionally held on Thursdays, there is no legal reason to prevent an election taking place on a Tuesday.
Both Ashfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council elect a full council each electoral cycle, so there won’t be another election for councillors until 2025 for the county and 2027 for the district, unless there are by elections.
Police and Crime Commissioner
The current Police and Crime Commissioner, Caroline Henry, was elected in 2021. The post is usually held for four years, but the 2021 election was postponed from 2020 as part of the coronavirus protective measures.
A year after being elected Henry, who had campaigned in part on a promise of cracking down on speeders, was banned from driving for six months and fined almost £2,500 after admitting five speeding offences between 17 March 2021 and 8 June 2021.
After the sentence, Henry, who is the wife of Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, said: “Henry said: ‘I’m truly sorry for speeding. Quite properly I’ve been fined and banned from driving for six months. I remain committed to serving the people of Nottinghamshire as police and crime commissioner.”
Henry will seek to retain the post and has been confirmed as the official Conservative candidate for the election, on 2 May.
Labour have selected Gary Godden as their candidate. Godden worked for Nottinghamshire Police for 15 years and now works for the NHS. He said: “I come to politics with real life experience of working in our public services for the NHS and the police service. Nottinghamshire is a diverse area and I am very proud to represent Labour as their policies and values reflect the opportunities that I’ve had in my life.”
The Liberal Democrats have again selected former candidate David Watts. Watts came third in 2021 with 23,794 votes. The election was held under the single transferable vote system, so his voters second preferences were re-allocated. In the final round, Henry received 138,658 votes, beating Labour’s incumbent candidate, Paddy Tipping, who received 131,302 votes.
In a change to the previous elections, the ballot for Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner will use the more traditional first past the post system, where the candidate with the most votes will win, regardless of whether they obtained 50 per cent support.
East Midlands Mayor
The second election is a regional-wide contest for the first executive East Midlands Mayor. This is a part of a new type of local government structure for the region and the winner will be given sweeping powers over many areas of public life, similar to the mayors of London, Birmingham and Manchester.
It is part of a major devolution settlement and the creation of a new East Midlands Combined County Authority. Part of the deal means a new guaranteed funding stream from central government of £1.14 billion – £38 million a year for the next 30 years.
The website for the East Midlands Combined County Authority says that a key part of the role of East Midlands Mayor is to act as an advocate and global ambassador for the combined county authority area and the 2.2 million residents who live here. “The Mayor leads the combined county authority, working with partner councils, business representatives and stakeholders on areas like transport, housing, regeneration, employment and skills, economic investment and the net-zero ambition.”
The Mayor’s term of office will run for four years.
How to Stand
If you wish to stand for either election, you must meet the eligibility criteria.
For the Police and Crime Commissioner, you must be:
- at least 18 years old on the day of your nomination
- a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of a member state of the European Union, and
- registered as a local government elector with a local council within the Nottinghamshire Police area both at the time of your nomination and on polling day
For the East Midlands Mayor, you must be:
- at least 18 years of age on the day of nomination
- a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member state of the European Union;
and also meet at least one of the following conditions:
- You are, and will continue to be, registered as a local government elector within the combined county authority area from the day of your nomination onwards.
- You have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises within the combined county authority area during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election
- Your main or only place of work during the 12 months prior to the day of your nomination and the day of election has been within the combined county authority area
- You have lived within the combined county authority area during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election
Candidates for both elections must also pay a deposit of £5,000, which is returned if they win more than five per cent of the vote.
The election for the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner is being managed by Rushcliffe Borough Council; while Nottingham City Council is managing the election for the East Midlands Mayor. Ashfield District Council officials will manage polling stations and the count in this district.
More details on how to stand and the requirements are available on the Rushcliffe Borough Council and East Midlands Combined County Authority websites.
The Electoral Commission is also a source of valuable information for those considering standing.
How to Vote
To vote in the elections, you need to be registered as a voter. Ashfield District Council will then let you know what polling station to cast your vote at on 2 May. If you aren’t able to vote in person on the day, you can request a postal vote or appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf.
To vote, you must register by 11.59 pm on Tuesday 16 April. If you wish to request a postal vote, or change an existing postal vote arrangement, you must do so by 5 pm on Wednesday 17 April. If you don’t have valid photo ID (see below), which you need to cast your vote in a polling station, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate. The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5 pm on Wednesday 24 April – but you must be registered to vote first.
The gov.uk website has online forms that you can use to
- register to vote https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
- apply for a postal vote https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote; and
- apply for a proxy vote https://www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote
You must be registered to vote before you can apply for a postal or proxy vote.
Further information is available on the elections pages of Ashfield District Council’s website, or you can contact the helpful staff in the elections team by email or online form.
Voter ID
To vote in person at a polling station, you now need to provide an approved form of photo ID. The only forms of ID that will be accepted are:
- Passport
(Issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country (including an Irish Passport Card)) - Driving licence
(Issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)) - A Blue Badge
- Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
- Oyster 60+ Card funded by the funded by the UK Government
- Freedom Pass
- Scottish National Entitlement Card issued for the purpose of concessionary travel (including a 60+, disabled or under 22s bus pass)
- 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
- Biometric immigration document
- Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
- National identity card issued by an EEA state
- Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
- Voter Authority Certificate
- Anonymous Elector’s Document
If you do not have an acceptable photo ID document, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate on the gov.uk website – remember the deadline for applications is 5 pm on Wednesday 24 April.
Ashfield Neighbour News will bring more updates on the elections as we approach 2 May.
