Summary

  • The vote for the first elected East Midlands mayor takes place in May

  • Six candidates are to stand in the forthcoming election

  • The mayor covers Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire - but not Leicestershire or Rutland

  • As part of the deal, a council called the East Midlands Combined County Authority has been created

  • The authority will receive a fixed sum of £38m annually for 30 years

  • Polls will be open on 2 May between 07:00 and 22:00 BST

Live Reporting

Will Jefford, Matt Taylor and Alex Smith

  1. Candidates may have a tough job convincing people to vote

    Hugh Casswell
    Political reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

    When politicians talk about the new combined authority, you'll mostly hear them waxing lyrical about the opportunities and investment it will create – but actually its existence being a good thing isn't a settled matter.

    One candidate is standing on the basis he'd abolish the role, and others say they're in favour of devolution in general, but don't think this is the best way to do it.

    And the responses from a public consultation last year were lukewarm at best, with 45% disagreeing with the proposals for governance, to 42% who agreed.

    If that kind of apathy is reflected on polling day, candidates may have a job on their hands convincing people to vote at all, let alone vote for them specifically.

  2. East Midlands mayoral election: Meet the candidates

    Will Jefford
    BBC East Midlands

    Ahead of the debate, we have compiled short profiles of each of the six candidates (listed alphabetically), which can be found by following the links in their names.

    Alan Graves

    Standing for Reform UK is Alan Graves, a 61-year-old sales director who believes there is no consensus for a regional mayor, and would scrap the position in his first 100 days.

    Ben Bradley

    Standing for the Conservative Party is Ben Bradley, the current leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and the Conservative MP for Mansfield. One of his priorities would be to "deliver a major road resurfacing investment".

    Claire Ward

    The Labour candidate is Claire Ward, who served as an MP under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She says the mayor will have to "get a grip" of transport in the East Midlands.

    Frank Adlington-Stringer

    Standing for the Green Party is Frank Adlington-Stringer, a 26-year-old self-employed designer who says the area can be the powerhouse of the "green industrial revolution".

    Helen Tamblyn-Saville

    The candidate for the Liberal Democrats is Helen Tamblyn-Saville, a former district councillor who would declare a climate emergency in her first action as mayor.

    Matt Relf

    Matt Relf, a local businessman in Ashfield, is running as an independent. He says the mayor should be "free of influence from London".

  4. How has this come about?

    Gavin Bevis
    BBC News, East Midlands

    Roadsign

    A new £1.14bn devolution deal for the region required the new mayoral role to be created.

    Some powers will be moved from Westminster to the elected leader for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

    The deal to create the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) was signed by Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council in November 2022.

    The authority will work alongside the four councils, with the new mayor acting as a figurehead to champion the region and lobby government for support.

  5. Welcome to our coverage

    Good morning and welcome to our coverage of a debate ahead of the first-ever East Midlands mayoral election.

    This morning, we'll be hearing from all the candidates who are hoping to become the region's first elected mayor.

    We'll bring you all the latest updates and analysis right here as it happens.

    And, of course, you can also hear the debate on BBC Radio Nottingham and BBC Radio Derby.

    The debate itself, which was recorded on Tuesday afternoon, will be broadcast from about 11:00 BST.