East Midlands Mayor: What all six candidates have to say about net zero
We've spoken to all six of the region's mayoral candidates ahead of polls opening next week.
Last updated 25th Apr 2024
Next week, we're heading to the polls to elect the first ever regional mayor for the East Midlands.
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire will choose who will head up the new Combined County Authority on Thursday, May 2nd.
It follows a devolution deal that was signed with the Government, to divert some decision-making powers from Westminster up to the East Midlands.
The deal will provide £1.14bn in funding, spread over 30 years.
The candidates are Frank Adlington-Stringer (Green Party), Ben Bradley (Conservatives), Alan Graves (Reform UK), Matt Relf (Independent), Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Liberal Democrats) and Claire Ward (Labour).
All six have spoken to us, outlining their priorities.
Here's what they have to say about net zero.
Frank Adlington-Stringer (Green Party)
Frank Adlington-Stringer was born in Chesterfield and is North East Derbyshire’s first-ever Green Party councillor.
We spoke with him about his plan to start a "Green industrial revolution" at Cromford Mills, near Matlock.
"This deal outlines 18 million pounds worth of funding for Net Zero.
"I've said forget that. If I'm your mayor, we don't need that 18 million for Net Zero we'll have 4 billion invested into green ambitions.
"The only way we tackle the climate crisis is by making sure that our housing or transport or energy sector are jobs and manufacturing are sustainable.
"We have to invest in everything and have a holistic approach to make sure the East Midlands as a whole is ready to tackle this.
"There's no point going after little targets with a little bit of cash and putting a few pretty flowers on the side of our manifestos.
"My entire plan, a green industrial revolution is centred around transitioning our region for the future and making sure that we are ready.
"I'll make the East Midlands a powerhouse of the UK's future economy. We will be ready when the rest of the UK catches up. We will have clean green jobs we will have clean green transport and we will be having clean green homes as well."
Ben Bradley (Conservative Party)
Ben Bradley was born in Derby and is the current leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and the Conservative MP for Mansfield.
We spoke to him about his plans to bring "major investment" to the region in his Mansfield constituency.
"Almost everything about what the Mayor can do relates to our environmental ambitions, so whether that is the huge investment we've already started to secure around things like clean energy, advanced manufacturing, decarbonising industry.
"We've already got one of the biggest investments in clean energy in Europe, Step Fusion in West Burton in Bassetlaw, which can be a hub for massive investment in skills in that sector, leading the world in innovation around fusion technology, but also wider technologies, hydrogen, modular nuclear, all big, big parts of our region.
"Aside from that, there's loads we can deliver around walking and cycling, around getting people on public transport and protecting our green spaces too, all massively relate to our net zero ambitions.
"And to demand more from developers, whether that's retrofitting homes, higher quality in terms of energy efficiency, making sure we've got a skilled workforce who can deliver all of that.
"So absolutely loads of work the Mayor can do to deliver those ambitions and make sure we've got a cleaner, greener place to live.
"Under my stewardship, there will never be a ULEZ zone in the East Midlands, certainly not one that I would back or support.
"I will never introduce clean air chargers, I will never introduce pay per mile type stuff that Sadiq Khan is on about.
"I will never raise council tax to fund these things either. It has to be about making people better off, not just charging people for things."
Alan Graves (Reform UK)
Alan Graves became a Reform UK councillor in 2020, and was elected mayor of Derby in May 2023.
Speaking to us in Derby, he said his only priority is to abolish the position as East Midlands Mayor.
"I think Net zero has been a real problem for our country.
"It's made us poorer, it's made people poorer and we are becoming un-competitive in the market place, so any measures to increase net zero I will be opposed to."
Matt Relf (Independent)
Matt Relf has been a councillor for Ashfield District Council for almost five years.
He is the cabinet member responsible for economic regeneration.
"We are seeing the effects of climate change across the region.
"There are so many parts of our counties that get buried underwater each year now, more and more frequently to deeper and deeper depths and if we don't do something about tackling that now, playing our part on all of this, it's going to get more and more expensive and more and more disruptive to deal with.
"We need to make sure we're building the right new homes, we need to be overhauling how we do retrofit so that social housing but also private residences and private businesses can more affordably access the improvements to reduce their energy bills so that everybody's benefiting from that cost saving.
"The big part of that is around providing the skills for retrofit as well and providing the business support so that those businesses can gear up to offer that to everybody.
"But also we need to be doing it in transport as well. The more people we can get accessing public transport, the more we can move public transport to green energies, the more impact we're going to have on all of this."
Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Liberal Democrats)
Helen Tamblyn-Saville lives in Retford and owns a children's book shop.
She also stood in the 2019 General Election in Bassetlaw and works as a district councillor for Retford West.
"I want to see a fair deal for our environment.
"Every single decision made as Regional Mayor should consider the implications on our environment. We are in a climate crisis, there is no planet B and it is essential that absolutely everybody does their bit to work towards net zero.
"Everyone should be able to enjoy the benefits of our wonderful natural environment and our children should inherit the future they deserve.
"In the East Midlands, the equivalent of nearly seven tons of carbon dioxide per person was emitted in 2021. This is slowly declining but not fast enough to protect our planet.
"On day one as Mayor, I would put in place a climate emergency and work with major industries such as manufacturing and agriculture on the best way to reduce their emissions without damaging the local economy.
"I support a grassroots up approach to working on this issue, there is no planet B and we all need to work together on this."
Claire Ward (Labour Party)
Claire Ward was first elected as MP for Watford in 1997.
She moved to Nottinghamshire in 2010 and is now chair Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
"We're the heart of England, but we need to be the green heart of it too here in this region.
"So I'm going to work to make sure this is a greener East Midlands. And how I'll do it is by making it a fair transition for all of those, so that people, no matter what they earn or what their state of life, can be able to value and support our transition to a greener economy.
"I'll protect nature and biodiversity by setting up a task force of the experts to help advise me.
"I'll campaign for all new suitable industrial buildings and homes to have solar panels and ensure they're energy efficient.
"I want to encourage more walking and cycling as a green transport alternative.
"And finally, I'll review all our existing actions to see how they can help us achieve our net zero and continue to do that while supporting that fair transition so no one is left behind as we move to a more sustainable life."
You can here more from the candidates in our news bulletins all this week.