Ben Bradley resigning as Nottinghamshire County Council leader after 'frustrating' election defeat

Ben Bradley is resigning as Nottinghamshire County Council's leader as he describes his "frustrations" at losing two elections this year. Councillor Bradley says continuing to run the authority he has led since 2021 is no longer compatible with the "new opportunities" he is now considering.

Nottinghamshire Live recently revealed that Councillor Bradley is understood to have put himself forward to be the Conservative Party's candidate in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral elections in May 2025. Asked whether there had been any progress on that, Councillor Bradley has now told Nottinghamshire Live: "Nothing has progressed with it at all at this point.

"I would expect that to happen over the next week or two, but as it is, there's been no movement on anything." It is understood Councillor Bradley is waiting to see if he makes the shortlist of candidates, expected to be published in the coming weeks, before deciding whether to proceed with a campaign.

The county council leader told colleagues he was resigning from the authority on Wednesday (November 6) and it is understood he will not seek re-election as the member for Mansfield North in the May 2025 county council elections. A new leader of the county council's Tory group, and therefore a new council leader, will be formally appointed on December 5 and Councillor Bradley will remain in post until that point.

In terms of who could take over, several people were mentioned as potential successors to Councillor Bradley at the time of the East Midlands Mayor election in May 2024. Councillor Bradley lost that election to Labour's Claire Ward but in the event of him winning, people mentioned as being interested in taking over the council at that stage included Neil Clarke, Richard Jackson, Keith Girling and Sam Smith.

Councillor Clarke, who currently leads Rushcliffe Borough Council, previously launched an unsuccessful leadership challenge against Ben Bradley's predecessor, Kay Cutts, in 2020. Councillors Jackson, Girling and Sam Smith all currently sit on the county council's cabinet - with the latter having previously worked for Gedling MP Tom Randall and having been involved in Robert Jenrick's unsuccessful bid to be Conservative Party leader.

Councillor Bradley, who earned £55,000 for his county council work last year, has been a county councillor since 2017 and became the leader in 2021 after the retirement of Kay Cutts. As well as losing the East Midlands Mayor election, this year also saw Councillor Bradley lose the role of Mansfield MP he had held since 2017 to Labour's Steve Yemm at the July general election.

Councillor Bradley said: "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. I have therefore decided that, in order to ensure the best possible process and maximum stability for the organisation, I should step away over the coming weeks and support my colleagues to transition to new leadership.

"Having made this decision, and with county council elections now on the horizon, it would not be fair to my colleagues at the council to deny them the chance to look ahead with certainty. I think that an orderly and managed transition at the earliest possible opportunity, is the best way to ensure that we are able to offer continuity and stability to our partners."

Councillor Bradley said his proudest achievements as council leader included his involvement in implementing the East Midlands mayoral authority, working on the successful bid for a nuclear energy project in North Nottinghamshire and delivering new schools. The decision means Nottinghamshire's Tories will be heading into May's county council elections with a new leader.

The last elections in 2021 saw the Conservatives win enough seats to form a majority on the council, though the election before that resulted in a coalition agreement between the Tories and Mansfield independents. As well as considering a run at Greater Lincolnshire Mayor, Councillor Bradley has more recently taken up a job with a Nottingham-based consultancy firm.

Reflecting recently on Ben Bradley's leadership, Councillor Kate Foale, leader of the Labour group on the county council, told Nottinghamshire Live: "Ben Bradley would never have anything said against the Conservative government. When I put a question to him about the state of the public finances before the Labour government took over, he told me that the government had put the economic situation in a very good position.

"It was like fairyland what he was describing to us, in complete denial about the mess that his government has left this country in. It's honestly unbelievable."

Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Leader of the Nottinghamshire County Independent Group said: "We would like to wish Ben Bradley all the best in his retirement from Nottinghamshire politics and look forward to working with a new leader that will benefit local residents. However, who is the currently leader of the county council is largely immaterial because in exactly 6 months, local residents will be choosing who runs Nottinghamshire County Council for the next four years.

"It will be a clear choice between the successful Nottinghamshire Independents and Labour who have already turned their back on the people who elected them earlier this year. We will be concentrating all of our resources and putting forward a positive alternative to the good people of Nottinghamshire in anticipation for May 1 next year."

The outgoing council leader added: "In each year and each budget during my tenure, Nottinghamshire County Council has delivered better value for money for local people relative to other councils. 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."