Former Member of Parliament and Local Council Leader Ben Bradley is standing for selection as the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
The region, which includes the Lincolnshire County Council area as well as the North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Unitary Authorities in the north, is set to elect a new regional Mayor in May 2025, with approval having been granted by Government in recent weeks.
Ben Bradley is highly experienced when it comes to these new Combined Authorities, having spent much of his professional life developing and implementing this policy. As a Member of Parliament he worked on the legislation that created them, and as a Council Leader he has previously negotiated the East Midlands Devolution Deal, as well as putting that in to practice by building the new Authority. In his current role in the private sector, Ben acts as a specialist adviser to businesses on how to understand and navigate regional Mayors and decision makers. All this means that there are few people nationally who can speak to the level of direct experience in this area, and of how the new Authority needs to work.
Ben's family hails originally from Bourne, where his grandparents and father lived, whilst his grandad was also stationed in Lincolnshire in the RAF. Though he now lives on the Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire border near Newark, he and his wife Shanade previously lived and worked in Grantham. During that time, Ben stepped in to support the then-MP during a serious illness, and acted on his behalf on campaigns such as the fight to save Grantham A&E in 2016/17. Ben plays hockey in Lincoln, and his business is also based there.
In recent years, one of the biggest projects he has been working on is STEP Fusion, a £20bn Fusion energy investment near Gainsborough, where Ben was instrumental in winning the bid to bring this technology to the region. He's subsequently helped to lead the work around this major investment opportunity, which will have a profound impact on north Lincolnshire in the years ahead, creating thousands of jobs and bringing in billions in infrastructure investment.
Ben Bradley has the local connections, but also the experience needed to be a great regional Mayor for Lincolnshire. Few others can demonstrate their ability to lead in both local and national Government, to get things done for their community, and to truly understand the opportunity of devolution and what it can bring to Lincolnshire, in the way that Ben can.
Ben will need the support of Conservative Members at upcoming selection events, if he is to become the Conservative candidate in the election.
