East Midlands Mayoral Elections 2024 - everything you need to know including candidates and key dates
Who are the candidates? Key dates you should know and more
Last week the news broke that the first-ever Mayor of East Midlands will head up a new Combined County Authority.
The new authority has been created after a £1.14 billion devolution deal was agreed for the area, which covers Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
An election will take place in May 2024, and understandably a few of you have some questions ahead of the big day.
Below we have outlined the key information you need to know from key dates to candidates.
What will the new Mayor of the East Midlands do?
A new regional mayor would give residents a bigger voice, more influence, and a higher profile across the country.
Key dates you need to know
You can vote for who will be the new Mayor of the East Midlands on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
To be able to vote, you need to be on the electoral register by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Register to vote
Anyone over 16 can register online, although you must be 18 to vote in elections.
It takes around five minutes to register and all you need is your National Insurance number.
You can register to vote on this website here: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Students can register to vote at both their home address and term-time address, as long as they are both in areas having different elections.
Apply to vote by post
Anyone who is registered to vote can apply to vote by post.
New postal vote applications must be received by the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm on Wednesday April 17, 2024.
You can now also apply to vote by post online on this website here: www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
More voting information can be found by clicking here.
Who are the East Midlands Mayoral candidates?
Six people are standing in the upcoming East Midlands Mayoral elections, here they are.
Frank Adlington-Stringer: Green Party
Ben Bradley: Conservative Party
Alan Graves: Reform UK
Matt Relf: Independent
Helen Tamblyn-Saville: Liberal Democrat
Claire Ward: Labour
How did the new mayoral post come about?
A devolution deal was signed by four councils; Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council in November 2022.
The deal guaranteed funding of £ 1.14 billion to cover 30 years.
This is alongside devolved powers around transport, housing, skills and adult education, economic development and net zero.
As part of the deal, a new East Midlands Combined County Authority was created and it will be led by a new East Midlands Mayor.
The mayor will lead the charge for more jobs, improved transport links, a greener environment and better housing.