The chair of the NHS Trust that runs Kings Mill Hospital has been elected as the first Executive Mayor of the East Midlands. Claire Ward, a former MP and justice minister in Tony Blair’s government, overwhelmingly won the vote across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with more than 40 per cent of the votes and a majority of 51,708.
As the results were announced, she said she was “truly humbled” to have been elected as the first East Midlands Mayor. “Throughout this campaign, I’ve heard your message loud and clear”, she said. “You are ready for change. You’ve not only put your trust in me, you’ve also put your trust in a changed Labour Party that can now confidently, and with conviction, say to our proud villages, towns and cities: ‘we are ready to lead and we are ready to deliver.’”
The Conservative MP for Mansfield, and leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Ben Bradley, came second with just under 29 per cent of the vote.
The East Midlands Mayor is a new position to lead a new East Midlands Combined County Authority, which brings together councillors from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire County Councils, and Derby and Nottingham City Councils.
The position of regional mayor is designed to give residents a bigger voice, more influence, and a higher profile across the country; and to act as a single point of contact for businesses and other organisations looking to move into the region or expand.
Ward, a qualified but non-practising solicitors, was appointed chair of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in October 2021, having served as interim chair since April that year. She had been a member of the Trust board since 2013. In 1997 she was elected as MP for Watford in Labour’s landslide victory and held junior ministerial positions.
Addressing “the people of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire”, Ward said: “You came out and you grasped the opportunity to take the decision making out of the hands of strangers in Whitehall and bring them closer to home.
“I’ve had countless conversations over the last six months with residents, business owners and community leaders across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and I can feel their frustration. They’re fed up with not being able to travel across the region easily due to gaps in public transport; fed up and worrying about their children getting a decent skilled job; or ever being able to buy a house of their own.”
Her victory speech echoed the sentiments in her election address, where she said: “I believe in the East Midlands. I live here, I am raising my family here”, Ward said in her election address. “It is a region of industry, creativity, history, and pride. But I know that it could be better.
“Better connected, better funded, better prepared for a future of opportunity, growth, and hope. Now, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move towards that better future.
“As the first East Midlands Mayor I will fight to reverse the decades-long neglect and under-funding that have held back the region. I will fight for a better, more connected transport system. I will fight to bring businesses and jobs bock to our region.”
She added: “I have the experience, vision and ambition to lead us to a better future as the first East Midlands Mayor. And I have a plan to make my vision a reality that puts your future first.”
The district of Ashfield is one of 17 electoral areas across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Here, Claire Ward came first with 7,130 votes. Ashfield Independent Councillor Matt Relf, who stood as an independent in the election, came third, with 3,570 votes.
Ashfield’s MP, Lee Anderson, switched from the Conservatives to Reform UK in March. The Reform candidate Alan Graves came in fourth in Ashfield, with 3,532 votes.
The Liberal Democrat candidate, Helen Louise Tamblyn-Saville, lost her £5,000 deposit, having gained just 3.6 per cent of the votes (15,970), less than the required five per cent.
