Nottinghamshire County Council Leader to Step Down

The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has declared his intention to resign from his position. Ben Bradley, a former MP for Mansfield, has served as a county councillor since 2017 and assumed the leadership role in 2021. The Conservative group leader indicated that following his losses in the mayoral and general elections earlier this year, he dedicated time to assessing his future direction and making plans. Bradley stated: “In order to ensure the best possible process and maximum stability for the organisation, I should step away over the coming weeks.” Mr. Bradley verified to the BBC that he had submitted his candidacy to become the Conservative nominee for the mayor of Lincolnshire, where an election to select a leader for the new combined authority is scheduled for May 2025. Nevertheless, he asserted that this was not the reason behind his choice to relinquish his position as council leader. In a formal statement, he remarked: “As I’m sure you can appreciate, this year has been a challenging one for me both professionally and personally, following two election defeats in the mayoral and general elections in the spring.” He continued: “Aside from the frustrations about the results, on a practical level it means that I have had to spend some time evaluating my next steps and planning for the future.” “I have considered very carefully the impact of putting my family through further election uncertainty in 2025, and the pressure that this puts on them.” “I would love to build my plans for the future around leading this authority for many years to come, but unfortunately the uncertain nature of politics means that I’m not able to do that.” “Meanwhile, it has become increasingly clear that being the leader of the council simply is not compatible with many of the new opportunities I now need to consider.” The Conservative faction within the county council is set to choose a new group leader in the upcoming weeks, prior to the council’s appointment of an authority leader at its subsequent formal meeting on 5 December. Mr. Bradley will retain his current position until this procedure concludes. It is anticipated that he will not pursue re-election to the council in May 2025. Reflecting on his tenure as leader, he expressed being “proud” to have contributed to “secure major new investment in the form of the East Midlands Combined Authority and billions of associated new funding”. He further mentioned his satisfaction in participating in the £20bn Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) Fusion Energy project, which “will create thousands of new jobs and training opportunities for local people, along with significant new investment and infrastructure to support clean energy research”. Earlier in the current year, he spearheaded a nationwide initiative aimed at obtaining an additional £500m in funding for local government. He concluded: “It has been a pleasure and an honour to lead the council for almost four years but now the time is right to move on.” According to Hugh Casswell, a political reporter for BBC Nottingham, Ben Bradley’s political career had appeared to be consistently progressing for several years. However, two electoral losses within a few months have left Mr. Bradley, whom opponents once labeled “three-jobs Bradley,” facing an uncertain future. Casswell questioned whether this marked his final political appearance. It has been speculated that he might seek to run as the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Lincolnshire. While Bradley does not deny his interest in this position, he maintains it is not the exclusive motivation for his resignation. For updates, follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Story ideas can be submitted to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or through WhatsApp at 0808 100 2210. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.