East Midlands Combined Authority mayor candidates debate key issues at YMCA Newark and Sherwood, hosted by Newark Business Club
Passions ran high as candidates debated key issues in Newark in a bid to become the East Midlands Mayor.
On Friday, Newark Business Club hosted a hustings event at YMCA Community and Activity Village in Newark, giving residents a chance to put the pressing questions to the candidates.
Five candidates took the opportunity to put their views and priorities for the new East Midlands Combined Authority in a bid for votes on May 2.
They were the Green Party’s Frank Adlington-Stringer, Conservative Ben Bradley, Independent Matt Relf, Liberal Democrat Helen Tamblyn-Saville and Labour’s Claire Ward. The Reform UK candidate, Alan Graves, had to pull out of the event because of a family emergency.
The mayor will have control of a £4bn investment — split between Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Derbyshire and Derby — and will have the power to take more of the decisions about what is best for the region out of the hands of those in Westminster.
The event was well attended, with over 60 people, ranging from residents and business owners, through to recognisable faces from across the regional political spectrum.
Candidates were quizzed on a number of topics including flooding, tourism, healthcare, economic growth, transport and the quality of roads across the region.
Green candidate Frank Adlington-Stringer said he wanted to deliver a ‘green industrial revolution’ as one of his main priorities — by investing in sustainable growth for manufacturers and communities across the region, with a focus on the environment.
He said he was the only candidate who had committed to bringing the buses back under public control as part of an effort to improve connectivity for rural areas and make transport more accountable.
He also passionately spoke of the importance of lakes and rivers such as the Trent as a place for leisure and business, promising to ask the government “to stop pumping sh*te” into our waterways
“This is a massive opportunity for our region,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity to deliver a strong leader who will stand up for the communities that have been left behind and really speak out against the status quo and business as usual.
“You have a choice — we need someone who has a plan, someone who wants to deliver a green industrial revolution to put us on the map and make sure we are future ready, support our education services, build decent houses, have manufacturers leading the way and make sure we are seen as a future powerhouse.
“Don’t worry about voting for something different, because that is exactly what we need.”
Conservative candidate, Ben Bradley, argued that he was best placed to become the new mayor as he had been involved in the process of setting up the combined authority, in his current role as leader of Nottinghamshire County Council.
He said: “It is important that we have a leader that understand our communities — I live in the area, I am passionate about this area.
“To deliver change it’s easy to stand here and say ‘I will do things better’, but I am the only candidate who can tell you how we will do that, what levers we need to pull and what we can deliver.”
Mr Bradley acknowleged there were huge pressures on public services such as the NHS which dragged funding away from others priorities including transport and the roads.
However, he made the case that he is already showing his ability to work with government and target neglected areas through his roles as council leader and MP for Mansfield.
He said this experience made him the best choice to get the most out of government and make improvements across the region, with the ambition of gaining additional powers such as those of the environment agency to help combat flooding.
He added that the visitor economy was an area that could be improved, with assets such as the River Trent holding “huge strategic value”.
Independent candidate Matt Relf argued that his current role as executive lead for growth, regeneration and local planning on Ashfield District Council had given him a unique understanding of what needs to be done to help the region grow.
In this role he has worked on several large infrastructure projects in recent years, something he said proves that he has “a track record of delivery” and wanted to bring these expertise to the mayoral role.
“We have forgotten what our democracy is about and our leaders aren’t listening,” he said.
“I’m not mired down by the toxic opinion of the Conservative government, which has dissatisfied a huge amount of the electorate who will not be voting for them.
“I will only listen to what people from this area have to say.
“Local decision makers know their areas best and we need to use those resources.”
He added: “I am the only candidate that understands how to fix potholes.”
On the green agenda, he said: “It is high up on my list, the difference is that I want to deliver it in a way that is acceptable to businesses and individuals so that it is affordable and deliverable, rather than a pie in the sky idea.
“If you want change, if you want the best of both worlds, vote Independent.”
When discussing transport, Mr Relf argued that funding from the scrapped HS2 project should not all be spent on fixing failures and that when done well, on demand bus services could plug network gaps and open up villages not currently served.
In a unique argument, Liberal Democrat candidate, Helen Tamblyn-Saville, questioned the need for the combined authority at all and said she would approach the role differently to other candidates.
She said: “Everyone deserves a fair chance and we cannot leave vulnerable people behind.
“That’s why I talk about a grass roots approach — if we’re going to get the best for the region we need to be engaging from the bottom up, not the top down.
“We don’t need to centralise power, I would engage local people, local stakeholders, businesses, the voluntary sector, to really understand what is needed.
“This is a great region but it could be so much better, we need to be cleaner, greener and bringing everyone along on that journey with us.”
As a business owner in Retford, she said she also understood what was best for businesses across the region and the importance of investment outside of the main city hubs of Nottingham and Derby.
A large importance was also placed on the quality of roads and public transport.
She said: “There needs to be better east to west connectivitiy
“There is understandable anger on this issue — it is a shame that so much money needs to be spent making improvements which should have already been done by the county council.”
Ms Tamblyn-Saville also said her first decision as mayor would be to declare a climate-emergency.
Labour candidate, Claire Ward, was the MP for Watford between 1997 and 2010 and it is this experience at the highest level which she believes sets her apart from her rivals.
After she left politics she ran a business in Nottinghamshire and is currently chairman of Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust — which runs Newark Hospital.
She said that there was too much of a focus on the M1 corridor and wanted to work with district and borough councils to makes changes.
Ms Ward said: “It’s an absolute disgrace that our manufacturing is on the brink, it’s a loss of skills from the area.
“There are a lack of voices speaking up — this is the reason I came back into politics.”
She added: “We need to make this region the best place to live in, to learn in, to work in and we need a champion who can do that.
“I have over 30 years of experience, not just in politics but in real life, I’ve had a job, run a business, worked in public services and know how to take responsibility and accountability for the decisions I make.”
She said that the mayor would need to work collaboratively to get things done with a focus on “place first, party second.”
One priority would be the introduction of a Visit East Midlands campaign to highlight what the region has to offer and harness its “untapped potential”.
She also committed to holding the current and future government to account, regardless of if Labour are in power or not.
All candidates acknowledged the importance of the voluntary sector and pledged to work with charities.
The elections for the East Midlands Mayor will take place on May 2. Registration to votes ends tomorrow (April 16).
