Sam Smith set to take over as Nottinghamshire County Council's leader

Sam Smith is set to replace Ben Bradley as Nottinghamshire County Council's leader after a vote by his party this morning (Monday, November 25). Councillor Smith is due to officially take office at the next full meeting of the Conservative-run authority on December 5.

Ben Bradley, who has led Nottinghamshire's biggest council since 2021, announced in early November that he was stepping back from his role following two "frustrating" election defeats. He lost the first East Midlands Mayor contest to Labour and also lost his role as Mansfield MP.

The 34-strong Conservative group at the county council therefore met early on Monday to decide who their next leader should be and Sam Smith was selected. Councillor Smith, aged 27, was chosen over two other leadership contenders in the form of Councillor Richard Jackson and Councillor Neil Clarke.

Having served as the cabinet member for education and SEND under Ben Bradley's leadership, Councillor Smith was first elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 2021. Before that, he became Gedling Borough Council's youngest member after first being elected to the authority in 2019 at the age of 22.

Councillor Smith served as the constituency manager for the Conservative Party's former Gedling MP, Tom Randall, until the MP lost his seat to Michael Payne at the July 2024 general election. Sam Smith also worked locally on Robert Jenrick's July 2024 general election campaign which saw Jenrick re-elected as Nottinghamshire's only Conservative MP.

Ben Bradley will remain a member of Nottinghamshire County Council until elections in May 2025, when all seats at the authority will be up for grabs. Councillor Bradley, who is now trying to become the Conservative Party's candidate in the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor election, says he will not be seeking re-election in May.

Councillor Smith was the first to declare he was running for the leadership and said at the time of his announcement: "I'm campaigning for the leadership to continue on that record of delivery, but also to campaign on that. We're heading into an election. We need to be able to demonstrate to residents that they are better off from a Conservative administration."

Richard Jackson, who had been serving as the cabinet member for finance, was the second person to confirm he was running. Councillor Neil Clarke, who also leads Rushcliffe Borough Council, became the last to declare ahead of the deadline for nominations.