Nottinghamshire County Council leader steps down

Ben Bradley became the leader in 2021

The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has announced he is stepping down from the role.

Ben Bradley, former MP for Mansfield, has been a county councillor since 2017 and became leader in 2021.

The Conservative group leader said after his defeats in the mayoral and general elections earlier this year, he had spent some time evaluating his next steps and planning for the future.

Bradley said: "In order to ensure the best possible process and maximum stability for the organisation, I should step away over the coming weeks."

It is understood Bradley will not seek re-election to the council in May 2025

Bradley confirmed to the BBC he had put himself forward to be the Conservative candidate for the mayor of Lincolnshire, with an election to appoint a leader for the new combined authority due to be held in May 2025.

However he said this was not what had prompted his decision to step down as council leader.

In a statement, he said: "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.

"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."

'Time is right'

The county council's Conservative group will select a new group leader in the coming weeks before the council appoints a leader of the authority at the next formal meeting on 5 December.

Bradley will remain in post until this process has been completed.

It is understood he will not seek re-election to the council in May 2025.

Talking about his time as leader, he said he was "proud" to have helped "secure major new investment in the form of the East Midlands Combined Authority and billions of associated new funding".

He added he was also pleased to have been involved in the £20bn Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) Fusion Energy project that "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 this year, he led a national campaign to secure £500m of additional funding for local government.

He added: "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."

Analysis

Hugh Casswell, political reporter, BBC Nottingham

For years Ben Bradley’s political career only seemed to be on an upward trajectory.

Two election defeats in a matter of months, however, mean the man once dubbed "three-jobs Bradley" by his opponents has suddenly found himself with an uncertain future.

Have we seen the last of him?

It has been rumoured he could try to stand as the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Lincolnshire.

He doesn’t deny his interest in the role but insists it’s not the sole reason for him stepping down.