Ben Bradley officially in running to be Lincolnshire's new mayor

Ben Bradley is officially in the running to be a candidate for Greater Lincolnshire Mayor as he prepares to step back from Nottinghamshire politics. Nottinghamshire Live first reported in early October that Mr Bradley was rumoured to be interested in standing for the Conservative Party in Lincolnshire's mayoral election.

Mr Bradley has confirmed that he did apply to be the candidate for his party and he has now made it to a shortlist of six people in the running to be the Tory hopeful. The Conservative Party is set to decide who of the six should be its candidate in December, with others on the list including former Lincoln MP Karl McCartney, former Boston MP Matt Warman and three Lincolnshire councillors.

Nottinghamshire Live understands that Mr Bradley was told about making the final shortlist on the same day he announced he was resigning as Nottinghamshire County Council's leader. The politician says he cannot remember the exact date he found out about being shortlisted, but says his decision to step back from the county council was made long before.

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Having led Nottinghamshire County Council since 2021, Ben Bradley will step down from the authority on December 5 when his successor officially takes over. Confirming he was now in the running to be the Conservative Party's Greater Lincolnshire Mayor candidate, Mr Bradley said: "My name is in the hat.

"I'd love to be selected by Conservative members as their candidate, but that's not my decision, so I look forward to that process playing out over the coming weeks." Mr Bradley was previously the MP for Mansfield from 2017 until losing his seat at the July 2024 general election.

Councillor Bradley previously stood unsuccessfully in the first ever East Midlands Mayoral election, which ended in victory for Labour's Claire Ward back in May 2024. The East Midlands Mayor heads up the East Midlands Combined County Authority - an organisation being given billions of pounds by the central government to make decisions on matters previously decided in Westminster.

A similar organisation is now in the works for Greater Lincolnshire and the first election for a mayor to head up that authority is set to take place in May 2025. The Greater Lincolnshire Mayor would be elected on a four-year basis and it is not yet clear how much they will be paid, but the East Midlands Mayor receives an annual salary of £93,000.

Mr Bradley has insisted he has countless links with Lincolnshire after some raised doubts about his connection to the county. The mayoral hopeful said: "What people might not know is that my family is originally from Bourne and before my wife and I lived in Nottinghamshire, we lived and worked in Grantham.

"That's actually where I first became involved in politics. We now live right on the Lincolnshire border, I play hockey in Lincoln, my business is based in Lincoln.

"So there are lots of connections there that people might not have been aware of. I'm already involved in some major projects that will impact on the county, like STEP Fusion for example, and I think with my experience I could add real value to the local area, local economy and communities."

Mr Bradley says that, whilst living in Grantham, he briefly stepped in to help the area's former MP Nick Boles when he was suffering with a serious illness. In terms of why he was running for election in Lincolnshire, Mr Bradley added: "It's well known now that I'll be stepping away from Nottinghamshire politics in the coming weeks.

"I think after eight years at the council and seven as a member of Parliament, the time is right after recent elections to move on, and I'm confident that I leave the council in a really good place. Those who have followed my work in recent years will also know that I think the role of regional mayor is a huge opportunity to deliver change and improvement in local communities. I've been very vocal about that."

Both of Mr Bradley's grandparents lived in Bourne and his grandfather was stationed in Lincolnshire whilst serving in the RAF. A website has already been set up for Mr Bradley's campaign to secure the Conservative Party's nomination, featuring a video of him stood in front of Margaret Thatcher's statue in Grantham.