Nottinghamshire County Council’s cabinet member for finance has announced his bid to become the Conservative-run authority’s next leader.
Cllr Richard Jackson confirmed his decision to stand for leader with the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Friday (November 22).
The council’s current leader, Ben Bradley, announced he would be stepping down in December following a “challenging” year and two election defeats.
Mr Bradley lost the race to become the first mayor of the East Midlands in May to Labour’s Claire Ward. He later lost his Mansfield MP seat to Labour’s Steve Yemm in July following a party landslide victory nationally.
Mr Bradley will hold the leader position until December 4, after which the Conservative Group at the council will appoint a new leader the following day.
Cllr Jackson, who was born in Chilwell, now sits in the County Council’s cabinet with responsibilities for finance.
He was previously leader of Broxtowe Borough Council between 2015 and 2019.
“I’ve had several colleagues ask me to put myself forward,” he said.
“I’ve got 23 years on the County Council serving the Conservative Group. I’ve been the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council for four years.
“Considering my portfolio I have it means I am up to speed with the council’s situation. We’ve got five months left until the local elections, we need someone who will be able to step in and be up to speed with everything already.
“It has always been our mantra to find the savings we need by doing things differently to other councils, rather than cutting services. We’ve kept council tax as low as we can. I want to continue that.”
Cllr Sam Smith, 27, who represents Trent Valley on Gedling Borough Council and Newark East for the County Council, tabled his leadership bid earlier in November.
He said he hopes to become one of the youngest leaders in the country.
It is expected a third candidate will step forward in the coming days before nominations close on Sunday.
A new leader is then expected to be chosen on Monday (November 25) by the Conservative Group.
